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MEXI 

In Peace and War 



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MEXICO 

In Peace and War y 



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A Narrative of Mexican History and Con- 
ditions from the Earliest Times to the 
Present Hour, Including an Account 
of the Military Operations by the 
United States at Vera Cruz 
in 1914 and the Causes 
that Led Thereto. 

By 

Thomas H. Russell, A.M., LL. D. 

Member of the American Historical Association, the National 
Geographic Society, Etc. 



Illustrated 



Reilly & Britton Syndicate 
Chicago 



Copyright, 1914 

by 

Sumner C. Britton 



jL',*i "\\m 



N. B. — All the photographic illustrations used in this book are copy- 
right by their owners and all rights of reproduction are strictly reserved. 



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PREFACE 

It was never intended that " Mexico in Peace and 
War ' ' should be limited in scope to a mere ' ' war book, ' ' 
although many months ago it was thought that war was 
imminent, and quite probable, before a solution of exist- 
ing difficulties could be brought about, or before this vol- 
ume could go to press. 

For several years the eyes of the civilized world have 
been directed toward Mexico because of the revolution 
of the masses against certain classes which had been 
fiercely waged. The American public seemed eager for 
details of this civil war, and such details were furnished 
by the daily press. Then came a demand for all kinds of 
information about Mexico. 

What seemed necessary to the situation was a popular, 
readable book that would embrace all the facts concern- 
ing this land of conquest, revolution and treasure. Such a 
history must necessarily be authentic and comprehensive. 

It was part of the plan that should war actually take 
place between the United States and Mexico ere its publi- 
cation, allowance would be made in this history for the 
incidents and causes leading up to and into the beginning 
of such a war. In the event of conflict it would be only 
reasonable to expect that whether or not the opposing 
forces should be in actual conflict, or in a position of 
armed belligerency pending peaceful settlement, the ulti- 
mate solution would be long drawn out ; and to postpone 
the volume for a " last word " of war developments 
would be to deprive the public of an immense fund of 
information never before issued in popular form. There- 
fore, in the make-up of this history the first four chapters 

5 



6 PREFACE 

wore reserved for eventualities, and thus the actual facts 
concerning the present situation in Mexico are to be 
found in most interesting sequence in the front of the 
book, fully illustrated with the very latest pictures to be 
had from the seat of trouble. 

This volume has been in preparation for many months. 
All facts and figures concerning Mexico have been secured 
from most reliable sources and may be depended upon. 
The chapters concerning social and economic conditions 
refer mainly to those which prevailed throughout the 
land just prior to the outbreak of the revolution which 
followed the last election of President Diaz. His regime 
was the golden age of Mexican peace and prosperity and 
it is therefore only logical to believe that, with the re- 
establishment of constitutional government, a new era 
of progress and development will dawn for our southern 
neighbor. 

Acknowledgment is freely made of assistance rendered 
during the preparation of the work by Mrs. Reau 
Campbell and Mr. Franc Campbell, manager of the Reau 
Campbell Tours and son of the noted traveler and author- 
ity on Mexico, the late Mr. Reau Campbell, whose com- 
prehensive " guide " is by the far the best work of its 
kind extant. Many of the illustrations of Mexican life and 
scenery are from the collection of Mr. Campbell and the 
great majority are printed for the first time in these 
pages. The editor is also indebted to the Bureau of 
American Republics and to the works on Mexico of Alfred 
R. Conkling, LL.B., Ph.B., former United States Geolo- 
gist; Arthur Edward Noll, author of " From Empire to 
Republic," and Francis Aug-ustus MacNutt, translator 
and editor of " The Letters of Cortez " and author of 
'' Fernando Cortez and the Conquest of Mexico," etc.; 
also to Mr. Hugh Miller and Mr. Keith Jones for timely 
contributions of available copy. 

T. H. R. 



CONTENTS 

CHAPTER PAGE 

Peeface 5 

Intkoductoey 11 

I. Occupation of Veea Ceuz 17 

Landing of United States Forces — Shelled by Small 
Guns — The Casualties — Admiral Fletcher's Warn- 
ing — How the First Man Died — General Maas Sum- 
moned to Surrender — A Contest of Rifles — Defenses 
of Vera Cruz — The City Cleaned Up — U. S. Troops 
Take Charge. 

II. The Tampico Incident 41 

Americans Taken from a Naval Boat — A Salute De- 
manded — Matter Referred to Huerta — He Refuses 
American Demands — President Wilson Before Con- 
gress — An Ultimatum — Fleet Ordered to Seize 
Vera Cruz — Both Sides of the Case — Events from 
Day to Day. 

III. Mediation by Diplomats 59 

South American Republics Offer Their Services — Ac- 
ceptance by President Wilson — Huerta Accepts tha 
Principle of Mediation — An Armistice Agreed Upon 

— Carranza Refuses to Suspend Hostilities Against 
Huerta Government. 

IV. The Eevolution OF 1910-14 77 

Resignation of President Diaz — Madero as President 

— Active Revolt Begins — The Ten Days' Fight in 
Mexico City — Intervention Proposed — Fall of 
Madero — His Death — Succession of Huerta — Not 
Recognized by the United States — The Carranza 
Revolt — The Constitutionalist Program — An Unsat- 
isfactory Election — John Lind's Mission, 



8 CONTENTS 

CHAPTER . PAGE 

V. The Mexican War of 1846-7 97 

Result of a Bounchuy J)ispute — The Revolt of Texas 

— International Boundaries Defined — General Zaeh- 
ary Taylor's Operations in Texas — Congress Declares 
War — Battle of Monterey — Battle of Buena Vista 

— General Scott's Campaign — Surrender of Vera 
Cruz — On to Mexico City — Battle of Cerro Gordo — 
In the Valley of Mexico — Scott's Strategy Wins 

— Battle of Chapultepec — In the City of Mexico — 
Santa Anna in Exile — The Treaty of Peace. 

VI. Early History of Mexico 114 

The Seven Tribes — Arrival of the Toltecs — Origin of 
Pulque — The Aztecs in the Valley — Legend of the 
Eagle — Empire of the Montezumas — Conquest by 
Cortez — In the Aztec Capital — Discovery of the 
Treasure — Rule of the Viceroys. 

VII. '' The Sorrowful Night " 125 

Cortez Leaves the City — A Midnight March — Attack 
by the Aztecs — Victims Seized for Sacrifice — Wlien 
Cortez Wept — Character of Cortez. 

VIII. The Revolutionary Wars 131 

Modern History of Mexico — The First Constitution — 
Fate of Patriotic Chieftains — Last of the Viceroys 

— Iturbide as Emperor — Rise of the Republic — 
The Era of Maximilian — Presidents Down to Diaz. 

IX. Juarez, the Indian President 136 

a Patriot and Honest Man — Elected President — His 
Re-election — " The Man in the Black Coat " — Death 
of Juarez. 

X. The Constitutional Struggle 141 

Earliest Efforts for Representative Government — The 
" Governmental Council " — The First Congress — 
Iturbide as Emperor — The Constitution of 1824 — 
Fundamental Law of 1836 — A Military Plan — The 
Constitution of 1857. 

XI. Mexico Under Diaz 150 

Diaz Proclaimed President — A Man of Action — His 
Liberal Administration — Tributes to Diaz. 



CONTENTS 9 

CHAPTER PAGE 

XII. Government and Constitution 153 

The Supreme Federal Power — Legislative, Executive 
and Judicial Branches — Revenues — Terms of the 
Constitution. 

XIII. The City of Mexico 158 

Origin of the Name — The Federal District • — The Na- 
tional Palace — Mexico's Liberty Bell — Many Mag- 
nificent Churches — The Great Cathedral — The 
Parks and Plazas — The Paseo — Old Aqueducts — A 
World-Famed Statue — Schools — The Death Rate. 

XIV. Around the Valley 181 

Beautiful Chapultepec — Palace of Montezuma — Mo- 
lino del Rey — Churubasco — The Ancient Capital — 
Mexico's Monte Carlo — La Viga Canal — The Vil- 
lage of Santa Anita. 

XV. A Mexican Bullfight 191 

The Most Popular Amusement ■ — Form of the Ring — 
Duties of the President — A Thrilling Scene — - Order 
of the Procession — Coming of the Bull — Interesting 
Features — The Star Performer — Death of the Bull. 

XVI. Ranches and Ranching 201 

The Mexican Table-lands — Many Vegetable Products 
— Conditions of Labor — American Managers' Meth- 
ods — ■ Payment for the Crops — One Result of Rais- 
ing Wages — Peon Slavery in the South — The Hene- 
quen Kings — " Enforced Service for Debt " — Break- 
ing the Yaqui Spirit. 

XVII. Industries and Manufactures 216 

Wonderful Resources Lying Dormant — The Cattle 
Industry — Hides and Skins — Hammock Making — 
Cotton and Woolen Fabrics — The Silk Industry — 
Distilleries — Tobacco — Ironf oundries — Jewelry. 

XVIII. Mines and Mining 226 

Mines Exempt from Taxes — The Metalliferous Belt — 
Great Mining Centers — A Silver State — Quarries of 
Onyx — The Patio Process — The Lixiviation Process. 



10 CONTENTS 

CHAPTER PAGE 

XIX. Coal and Oil Deposits 237 

Discovery of Coal — States Seek Development of Mines 

— Great Oil Deposits. 

XX. Land Laws of Mexico 242 

The Three Regions — Public Lands — Terms of the Law 
— The Denouncer's Rights — Long Leases to Foreigners 

— Title of an Alien. 

"XXI. The Legend of Guadalupe 248 

Holiest Shrine in Mexico — A Miraculous " Sign " — 
Legend Sanctioned by the Church — A National Holi- 
day — The Church of Guadalupe. 

XXII. Social Conditions in Mexico 259 

Two Classes of Society — Peons Used as Pack Ani- 
mals — Their Faithful Service — All Gradations of 
Caste — A Veritable Feudal System — Cost of Living 

— Rents — Public Porters — Costumes. 

XXIII. The Alcabala System 271 

a Peculiar Method of Taxation — Reforms of 1830 — 
Official Interpretation of the Tax. 

XXIV. Bandits and Their Work 275 

The Rurales or Country Police — Weapons of an Iron 
Hand — Rise of Bandit Leaders — A Typical Case 
of Brigandage — Other Exciting Experiences — An 
Attack of Zapatistas. 

XXV. Facts About Mexico 284 

Area and Population — People, Religion and Education 
— Principal Cities — Rivers and Lakes — Flora and 
Fauna — States and Their Area — Music — The 
National Hymn — Transportation — The Police. 

XXVI. Chronology of Mexican History SOS 



INTRODUCTORY 

Steaming majestically south through the Gulf of Mex- 
ico and the Bay of Campeche toward the ancient port of 
Vera Cruz, a service squadron of modern gray war- 
ships proudly bore at the masthead the flag that waves 
over a hundred million free and independent people in 
the world 's greatest republic — the flag that should com- 
mand universal respect and insure the lives and liberty 
of all, at home or abroad, who claim the protection of its 
starry folds. But the bright emblem of their nationality 
borne by the warships had been treated with contumely 
in a foreign port. Their flag had been flouted — and the 
service squadron steamed steadily on. 

Aboard the ships was a fighting force of patriotic, 
resolute men. Young men they were, for the most part, 
filled with the fire and fervor of youth and eager for a 
sight of the enemy they sought ; but held in perfect con- 
trol by their commanders, thoroughly trained and dis- 
ciplined, expert in the arts of peace and of war, accus- 
tomed to use head as well as hand in all their pursuits, 
fit for any duty, and ready to go anywhere in the defense 
of their flag. 

Sixteen years had elapsed since the young men of 
America had last been called to active service under the 
Stars and Stripes, but these men, sailors and marines 
of the great gray vessels on their way to Central Amer- 
ica, were all of the same stamp and animated by the same 
spirit as their brothers who followed the flag to Cuba 
in 1898, and of whom it was well said by a British officer 

U 



1-2 INTRODUCTORY 

that '* every man seemed fit to command a company." 
But, 

' ' Theirs not to reason why — 
Theirs but to do or die." 

With grim, set face the admiral paced the bridge of 
his flagship. His orders were plain and his purpose 
adamant. It was his duty to secure satisfaction for an 
affront offered to the American flag and nothing could 
turn him from his task. He was bound for the principal 
port of the offending country — the port that had once 
before been occupied by an invading American force in 
its advance upon the Mexican enemy's capital, and that 
had been the scene, nearly 400 years before, of Fernando 
Cortez' landing in his career of conquest. 

But what a difference in the appearance and strength 
of the advancing squadron of 1914 and that which cov- 
ered the landing of Winfield Scott in 1847, to say nothing 
of its contrast with the ships of Cortez, which he burned 
behind him in the harbor of Vera Cruz in 1519, ere he 
advanced upon the capital — that being the great com- 
mander's answer to the mutinous complaints of his men. 
These mighty masses of floating steel, with their strange 
network of fighting masts and protruding teeth in the 
form of 14-inch guns, dwarfed into complete insignificance 
any naval force that had ever been seen in these waters 
and boded ill for those who had failed in respect for the 
flag they bore. The great guns of this squadron were 
capable of blowing a city about the ears of its defenders 
while standing almost out of sight at sea, and the smallest 
guns carried by the transports that accompanied the 
battleships would have been more than a match for the 
ships of war that sailed all seas in the days when Santa 
Anna sought vainly to prevent General Scott's triumph- 
ant progress from Vera Cruz to the City of Mexico. 

The story of what followed the appearance of the 
American squadron before Vera Cruz — of how, in spite 



INTRODUCTORY 13 

of the prevalence of a " norther," one of those heavy 
winds locally known as el norte that regularly threaten 
the exposed harbors of the Atlantic coast of Mexico, a 
strong force was landed and the city occupied, pacified, 
cleaned up and administered, first by the navy under 
Admiral Fletcher, and subsequently by the army forces 
under General Funston, is told in detail hereinafter. 



The relations between the United States and Mexico, 
or rather between the United States and the de facto 
government of Mexico headed by General Victoriano 
Huerta, had been strained almost to the breaking point 
for more than a year. President Taft in the closing days 
of his administration had refused to recognize Huerta, 
and had sent a large force of American troops to occupy 
the strategic points along the border between the two 
countries. The violent deaths of the deposed president 
and vice-president, Madero and Suarez, in the City of 
Mexico shortly before the accession of President Wilson 
at Washington, had created a bad impression in the 
United States and recognition of Huerta was positively 
refused by the Wilson administration, both before and 
after the unsatisfactory presidential election in Mexico 
in October, 1913. Clashes between the American troops 
along the Rio Grande River and bodies of Mexican fed- 
eral soldiers were often narrowly averted and sometimes 
indeed shots were fired in anger across the international 
boundary. The condition of American residents in 
Mexico, in the cities as well as in the rural districts, where 
they were subjected to the outrageous demands of 
banditti, had grown intolerable and all American citizens 
had been advised to leave the country. 

The climax came with what is now generally known as 
*' the Tampico incident." An unbearable affront was 
offered to the American flag and after a prolonged period 
of anxious waiting, the patience of the authorities 
at Washington was finally exhausted and drastic action 



14 INTRODUCTORY 

was decided upon. Efforts to secure reparation from 
Huerta for the insult to the flag having failed, President 
Wilson appeared before Congress on the afternoon of 
Monday, April 20, 1914, and sought and obtained author- 
ity to employ the army and navy of the United States to 
enforce respect for the flag in Mexico. At that time 
the service squadron of the Atlantic fleet, under Rear 
Admiral Frank F. Fletcher, was already nearing Vera 
Cruz, of which it took possession on the following day. 

Meanwhile William Jennings Bryan, secretary of 
state, had been making untiring eiforts at Washington 
to secure a settlement of the difficulties between the two 
governments without resort to arms. Himself a strong 
advocate of international peace, he enlisted the services 
of all who could possibly help in a peaceful solution of 
the problem. Senators and representatives in Congress 
were divided as to the necessity for war, though they as 
a body supported the president in his determination to 
secure redress for the Tampico incident. Throughout 
the country a strong war sentiment soon developed. In 
anticipation of a call for troops for service in Mexico, 
volunteers by the thousand tendered their services in 
every state of the Union and the scenes that preceded our 
declaration of war against Spain in 1898 were repeated 
in all the large cities of the country. The American 
casualties at Vera Cruz served to fan the flame of martial 
ardor. War was indeed imminent and its declaration 
before many days seemed certain when, on Saturday, 
April 25, it was announced at Washington that the 
proffer of the services of Argentina, Brazil and Chile in 
an effort to settle the difficulty by mediation had been 
accepted by President Wilson. A few days of diplo- 
matic exchange of views with General Huerta were fol- 
lowed by his acceptance of the principle of mediation and 
by the armistice which exists as these words are penned. 

What the outcome will be, it is impossible to predict 
with any hope of accuracy. The downfall of Huerta, or at 



INTRODUCTORY 15 

any rate his elimination as a potent factor in Mexican 
politics and government, seems assured, since it is the 
fixed policy of the Washington administration to withhold 
consent to his continuance in any position of influence 
whatever. The attitude of the Constitutionalist leaders 
in Mexico, flushed as they are with many victories over 
the federal troops supporting Huerta, is in grave doubt, 
and the diplomats of the South American republics, who 
have undertaken to solve the problem and secure peace 
with honor for all concerned, are confronted by no easy 
task. Any solution that does not include practical pro- 
visions for the pacification of Mexico, so that it will once 
more become safe for American citizens and all other for- 
eigners to dwell within its borders and reap the rewards 
of their industry and enterprise in peace, unmolested by 
either revolutionists or banditti, will not be satisfactory 
or pernianent — and the present temper of the American 
people is to insist upon a permanent settlement of Mex- 
ican affairs, and to insist upon it now. 

The forces of the United States occupy the city and 
port of Vera Cruz and it is altogether probable that they 
will remain in possession until the slow methods of 
diplomacy have borne fruit. Both sides to the con- 
troversy are resting on their arms, but active prepara- 
tions for possible eventualities go on apace in both 
countries. The United States does not desire war with 
any nation, least of all with a weaker sister republic, 
already torn and distracted by internal strife. But it 
will not long fail to insist upon respect for its flag and 
protection for its citizens, their lives and their property, 
wherever they may be. 







> 



CHAPTER I 
OCCUPATION OF VERA CRUZ 

For the second time in history the Mexican port of 
Vera Cruz was occupied by the United States on the 
morning of Tuesday, April 21, 1914, when a force of 
marines and bluejackets from the warships Utah, 
Florida and Prairie landed at 11:10 o'clock and 
seized the Custom-house without opposition. The marines 
were under the command of Major Smedley Darlington 
Butler, son of Representative Thomas S. Butler of Penn- 
sylvania, senior Republican member of the United States 
House of Representatives. 

Leaving a guard at the entrances to the Custom-house, 
the American forces took up positions commanding the 
streets leading toward the central square of the town, 
the Plaza de la Constitucion. Machine guns and field 
guns were placed in position to cover all the streets con- 
verging on the square. 

The commanding officer of the American fleet was Rear 
Admiral Fletcher, and his orders were that the landing 
forces should occupy these positions and make no attack 
on the Mexican troops unless they were attacked them- 
selves. 

[N. B. — ^The United States having been on the verge of war with 
Mexico, although the South American Republics had inaugurated their 
efforts at mediation and an armistice prevailed at the time this edition 
of "Mexico in Peace and War" went to press, the most recent incidents of 
the difficulty with Gen. Huerta and his government have been treated 
thus prominently, out of their chronological order, on account of the wide- 
spread interest in the present situation and the demand for a permanent 
record of recent events.] 

17 



18 OCCUPATION OF VERA CRUZ 

The scene in the harbor of Vera Cruz as the men of the 
iiavj proceeded amid cheers to the landing at the custom- 
liouse wharf was an unparalleled and inspiriting one. 
Nearest the shore of all the warships lay the transport 
Prairie, from which came the majority of the landing 
force. Farther out lay the great gray masses of the 
battleships Florida and Utah, their crews crowding to 
their sides watching developments and envying their com- 
rades ordered to duty ashore. In the outer harbor, too, 
were the British cruiser Essex, the French cruiser Conde 
— named after the historic admiral of France, and the 
Spanish gunboat Carlos V., all intensely interested and 
sjrmpathetic witnesses of the American operations. 

Before twenty hours had elapsed the scene before the 
ancient city was destined to become even more interesting 
from both the naval and the international standpoint. 
Rear Admiral Badger, commanding the North Atlantic 
fleet of the United States navy, was rapidly approaching 
Vera Cruz, leading a fleet composed of the first-class bat- 
tleships Arkansas, flagship, New Hampshire, Louisiana, 
Vermont, New Jersey and North Dakota ; also the South 
Carolina, Michigan, Tacoma and Nashville, with a total 
force of 7,700 sailors and 500 marines. On the arrival of 
these war vessels, with their accompanying supply ships, 
there were in all twenty-one ships of the United States 
navy lying in their gray war paint in and outside the port 
to insure the capture and safekeeping of the city. 

The actual landing of the naval force ordered ashore 
by Admiral Fletcher in pursuance of his orders was 
unopposed. Sweeping in to the wharf under the guns 
of the Prairie, the ships' boats and power launches, 
crowded to the gunwales with sailors and marines, made 
fast and debarked their loads of fighting men without 
the firing of a hostile shot. But the white-clad Americans 
had no sooner gained the center of the city and secured 
the approaches to the Plaza, than opposition developed 
and active hostilities began. 



OCCUPATION OF VERA CRUZ 19 

Scarcely had the troops placed the guns in position 
when Mexican soldiers appeared on the housetops over- 
looking the square. Two shots rang out and within a 
few minutes three volleys came from a Mexican force 
several hundred yards from the positions occupied by the 
Americans. These volleys were returned immediately by 
the sailors and marines and soon the firing became 
general. 

GUNS OF THE PEAIEIB OPEN FIKE 

When Rear-Admiral Fletcher was informed of the 
attack on his men by the Mexicans he ordered the guns 
of the armed transport Prairie to open fire on the posi- 
tions occupied by the enemy. 

Captain William R. Rush of the battleship Florida 
was in general command of the landing force soon 
located a large force of Mexicans firing on the United 
States troops from the tower of the Benito Juarez light- 
house and ordered his men to open fire on this point. 
Several three-inch guns were trained on the lighthouse 
and the tower was struck three times, silencing the 
enemy's fire. 

Captain Rush signaled to the transport Prairie, on 
board of which was Admiral Fletcher, as follows : " Am 
being attacked from the right and rear north of the round- 
house; shell that district." 

At the same time it was noticed that sharpshooters 
lined the roof of the Mexican Naval Academy and were 
*' sniping " the bluejackets. A three-inch gun of the 
Prairie was trained on the academy and the Mexicans 
were forced to abandon their position. 

The shooting by this time had become general all over 
the city. At 3 o'clock the United States Consulate had 
been struck by several bullets. 

TWO MAEINES AND TWO SAILOES KILLED 

Two sailors of the Florida and two marines were killed 
and nearly a score wounded. Under the heavy fire from 



20 OCCUPATION OF VERA CRUZ 

the warships the Mexicans were driven from the center 
of the city to the eastward, where they attempted to make 
a stand. The Prairie, which was lying in the harbor about 
a quarter of a mile from the harbor front, turned her 
guns to the point where the Mexicans were gathering 
and forced them to take refuge in the narrow streets 
thereabout. 

UTAH SENDS MORE SAILORS ASHORE 

At 2 *clock several boatloads of sailors from the battle- 
ship Utah were landed east of the Custom-house. As the 
boats drew near the wharf, several volleys were fired on 
them from large warehouses and box cars along the water 
front. These places were shelled by the guns of the 
Prairie and the sailors were able to land without losing 
a man. 

Among the American wounded were two signalmen 
who were operating on the roof of the Terminal Hotel 
near the water front. 

About 5 o'clock the resistance of the Mexicans began 
to dwindle appreciably. Firing from the towers and the 
housetops, from which the heaviest rain of bullets came 
at the beginning of the fighting, died away. 

The marines and bluejackets made no attempt to pur- 
sue the flying Mexicans, firing only whenever one of the 
enemy showed himself in the streets. 

FLETOHEB WAENS GARRISON COMMANDER 

Captain H. McLaren P. Huse, Rear-Admiral Fletcher's 
chief of staff, went ashore in the midst of the fighting 
to try to get into communication with General Gustavo 
Maas, commander-in-chief of the Mexican garrison. He 
carried a warning from the American commander to the 
effect that his patience was exhausted and that if the 
Mexicans continued to resist, the fleet would shell the city. 

When William W. Canada, the American consul, noti- 



OCCUPATION OF VERA CRUZ 21 

fied General Maas on Tuesday morning that marines were 
about to be landed and requested him to cooperate with 
the American forces to maintain order in the city, the 
Mexican commander replied that this was impossible. 

Mexican resistance in the presence of such an over- 
whelming force, said an observer, can be explained only 
on the ground that they desired to save their faces by 
making a show of fight, however futile. 

A cargo of war munitions for the Federal government 
aboard the German steamer Ypiringa, which had arrived 
in the morning, was captured by the United States land- 
ing force. It consisted of 250 machine guns, 20,000 rifles 
and 15,000,000 rounds of ammunition. 

Captain Huse tried to ascertain the whereabouts of 
General Maas, so that he could send a flag of truce to 
propose an armistice and inform the Mexican commander 
that the purpose of the landing of United States troops 
had been accomplished by the capture of the Ypiringa *s 
cargo. 

A New York newspaper man volunteered to take a flag 
of truce to General Maas, but Captain Huse declined the 
offer, saying that the mission was too dangerous. 

ADMIRAL FLETCHEE's REPOET 

The following despatch was sent by wireless to the 
Navy Department by Admiral Fletcher: 

** Tuesday — In the face of an approaching norther I 
landed marines and sailors from the battleships Utah 
and Florida and the transport Prairie and seized the 
Custom-house. The Mexican forces did not oppose our 
landing, but opened fire with rifle and artillery after our 
seizure of the Custom-house. The Prairie is shelling the 
Mexicans out of their positions. Desultory firing from 
housetops and in the streets continues. I hold the Cus- 
tom-house and that section of the city in the vicinity of 
the wharves and the American Consulate. Casualties, 
four dead and twenty wounded." 



22 OCCUPATION OF VERA CRUZ 

The Americans killed in the first day 's fighting at Vera 
Cruz were as follows : 

Haggerty, Daniel Aloysius, private, Eighth Company, 
Second Advance Base Regiment, United States Marines. 

Marten, Samuel, private. Sixteenth Company, Second 
Advance Base Regiment. 

Poinsett, George, seaman, United States ship Florida. 

Schumacher, John F., coxswain. United States ship 
Florida. 

HOW THE FIRST MAN DIED 

According to eyewitnesses, Seaman George Poinsett 
was shot by a Mexican sharpshooter while raising the 
flag on the Plaza following the first landing of marines. 
No other shots had been fired. As Poinsett tied the flag 
to the halyards and raised it, there was a puff of smoke 
from the tower of a church nearby and he fell with a 
bullet through his heart. 

Immediately after his fall came the first resistance by 
the Mexicans to the invasion of United States troops. 

Thomas G. Parris, formerly principal of the Pastorius 
public school, of Philadelphia, which Poinsett attended, 
spoke highly of him as he had known him. 

*' George died as he would have chosen. He always 
wanted to join the navy. His grandfathers were both 
naval officers in the Civil War." 

EULOGIZED IN CONGRESS 

Poinsett was eulogized in the House of Representatives 
at Washington April 22 as '^ the Worth Bagley of the 
Mexican trouble." 

Representative Moore, of Pennsylvania, in calling 
attention to the fact that Poinsett was the first man killed 
in the intervention in Mexico, declared that ^' whether 
we have entered upon this war wisely or unwisely, we 
have at least demonstrated our wisdom as a nation in 
being prepared for war. 



OCCUPATION OF VEEA CRUZ 23 



a 



A father who yielded to his boy's desire to serve 
his country has been bereft of a son, but the nation has 
added the name of that boy to its roll of heroes. ' ' 

PRESroENT WILSON 's REGRETS 

Letters expressing the profound sorrow of President 
Wilson and Secretary of the Navy Daniels at the death 
of the four sailors and marines first killed at Vera Cruz 
were dispatched on April 22 by the Secretary of the Navy 
to the parents of the men. 

The letters were addressed to William Poinsett, of 
Philadelphia, Pa. ; Mrs. Isabella McKinnon, of Brooklyn, 
N. Y., mother of Coxswain Schumacher; Mayer Marten, 
of Chicago, and Michael Haggerty, of Cambridge, Mass. 

Mr. Daniels wrote to each as follows : 

*' This morning's dispatches from Vera Cruz convey- 
ing the distressing news that your son was in the first 
line to give his life for his country saddens all America 
as the tragedy brings gloom into your home. 

'' My feeling and the feeling of the president to you 
in this sad hour was expressed by President Lincoln, 
when, on November 21, 1864, he wrote to Mrs. Bixby, of 
Boston, whose five sons gave their lives fighting under 
the American flag : 

" ' I feel how weak and fruitless must be any words 
of mine which should attempt to beguile you from a loss 
so overwhelming. But I cannot refrain from tendering 
to you the consolation that may be found in the thanks 
of the republic they died to save, I pray that our Heav- 
enly Father may assuage the anguish of your bereave- 
ment and leave you only the cherished memory of the 
loved and lost and the solemn pride that must be yours 
to have laid so costly a sacrifice upon the altar of 
freedom.' " 

The navy department arranged to bring to the United 
States the bodies of the Vera Cruz victims, and either 
forward them to relatives or make final interment in a 



24 OCCUPATION OF VERA CRUZ j 

national cemetery. Their final disposition rested with 
the families. 

GENERAL MAAS WITHDRAWS 

Such was in brief the story of the memorable day on 
which the Stars and Stripes was once more planted on 
Mexican soil. The big guns of the service squadron were 
not used, and the Mexican defense of the city was 
desultory, General Maas, the Mexican commander in the 
city having withdrawn his main force, but remaining in 
the vicinity. 

The following account of the operations was given by 
an eye witness : 

Those watching from the ships observed through their 
glasses a large force of Mexicans moving over the hills in 
the western outskirts of the city, apparently with the 
intention of flanking a battalion of marines in the railway 
yards and along Montesinos street, which runs east and 
west not far from the American consulate. 

Instantly the five-inch guns of the Prairie let go, break- 
ing the Mexican formation and causing a hasty retreat. 
This ended the flanking movement. 

Only a few minutes before the three-inch guns of the 
Prairie were used effectively near shore. A small detach- 
ment of Mexicans had gained positions near the custom 
house and their concealed marksmen were causing some 
trouble. A few shots from the Prairie's guns served to 
silence the position. From time to time the same guns 
played their shells along the line of the shore, keeping 
that territory comparatively free of sharpshooters. 

ASKS MAAS TO SURRENDER 

With all the eastern side of the city occupied and also 
the tracks of the railway as far west as the roundhouse 
near the western edge on the northern side and with the 
Mexicans unable to do more than keep up an annoying 
but ineffective fire from house tops, Capt. Rush at 4:20 



OCCUPATION OF VERA CRUZ 25 

o'clock sent under a flag of truce a messenger chosen 
from among the natives to Gen. Maas, or whoever hap- 
pened to be in command, to ask if he was not ready to 
surrender. 

Unless the Mexicans yielded Capt. Rush had his choice 
of continuing the fighting under the tactics he was using 
or of charging all positions or calling on the warships 
for a bombardment. 

He was loath to resort to a bombardment and on the 
other hand did not desire to lose any more of his men by 
charges. He recognized that the tactics of the Mexicans 
might leave the housetop fighters in their position 
indefinitely and that it was not impossible that those who 
were ** sniping '* from the roofs might be reinforced by 
others of their kind during the night. 

The messenger was told to remind Gen. Maas that 
while there were ashore at that time only a few more 
than one thousand men, there would be available for the 
American forces by morning some 10,000. It was left to 
Gen. Maas to draw his own inference from this message, 
but no attention was paid to it and the desultory firing 
continued until all the Mexican sharpshooters had been 
killed or dislodged. 

A CONTEST OF EIFLES 

There was no cannon firing from the Mexican side, and 
it is supposed their artillery pieces were taken from the 
city early in the day. With the exception of a few shots 
from the light field pieces of the bluejackets and a few 
from the Prairie, it was a contest of rifles. 

Bravery was shown everywhere among the Americans. 
The youngsters wearing the bluejackets of their vessels 
behaved as well under fire as the marines, who along the 
line comported themselves like veterans. Some of the 
marines had seen service before in Central America and 
other places. In the earlier part of the engagement small 
detachments of the Americans who were guarding the 



26 OCCUPATION OF VEKA CRUZ 

approaches to the central part of the city stood without 
flinching while bullets from the rifles of the Mexicans sang 
about their ears. 

The Mexican loss on April 21 was estimated at between 
150 and 200 killed. 

MAKEUP OP LANDING FORCE 

Rear Admiral Fletcher limited his first landing party 
to 1,000 bluejackets and marines. Opposed to this force 
were 900 Mexicans under the command of Gen. Maas. 

The following was the approximate strength of the 
naval forces available for shore duty : 

From the battleships Florida, Utah, Connecticut, and 
Minnesota — 240 marines, 1,860 bluejackets. 

From the cruisers San Francisco and Chester — 400 
marines, 250 bluejackets. 

From the transports Prairie and Hancock — 1,684 
marines. 

CONSUL Canada's eeport 

U. S. Consul Canada's report of the day's operations 
was as follows: ''Marines and bluejackets landed at 
11 :30 this morning, immediately taking possession of 
cable office, postoffice, telegraphic offices and custom 
house, also railroad terminals and yards with rolling 
stock. Notwithstanding firing from housetops we are 
masters of the situation so far without use of heavy guns. 

" Our men are simply defending themselves. Some 
resistance from naval vessels soon silenced by guns on 
Prairie. At this time reported four of our men killed and 
twenty wounded. American newspaper men and several 
other Americans in consulate. 

" Several Americans including some women who 
refused to go aboard refugee ship are now marooned in 
hotels within firing line. Trains from Mexico City did 
not arrive. " 



OCCUPATION OF VEEA CRUZ 27 

PEOCLAMATION TO PEOPLE OF VEEA CRUZ 

On April 22, Admiral Fletcher issued a proclamation 
to the mayor, chief of police, and citizens of Vera Cruz, 
as follows: 

" It has become necessary for the naval forces of the 
United States of America now at Vera Cruz to land and 
assume military control of the customs wharves of Vera 
Cruz. Your co-operation is requested to preserve order 
and preserve life. 

''It is not the intention of the United States naval 
forces to interfere with the administration of the civil 
affairs of Vera Cruz, more than is necessary for the pur- 
pose of maintaining a condition of law and order and 
enforce such sanitary conditions as are needed to meet 
military requirements. 

"■ It is desired that the civil officials of Vera Cruz shall 
continue in the peaceful pursuit of their occupations. 
Under these conditions full protection will be given to the 
city by the United States naval forces. 

"It is enjoined upon all inhabitants and property 
owners to prevent firing by individuals from the shelter 
of their houses upon United States forces, or upon any 
one else. Such firing by irregulars not members of an 
organized military force is contrary to the laws of war; 
if persisted in it will call for severe measures. 

'' F. F. Fletcher, Rear- Admiral, U. S. N. 
** Commander Detached Squadron U. S. Atlantic Fleet." 

PRESIDENT WILSON PHONED THE ORDER 

The story of how President Wilson ordered the cus- 
tom-house at Vera Cruz to be seized was revealed in 
Washington on April 22. 

The president had gone to bed on Monday night while 
the senate was debating the joint resolution to approve 
of the use of the army and navy, and had determined 
to withhold action until the resolution passed, although 



28 OCCUPATION OF VERA CRUZ 

feeling that in an emergency the executive had ample 
authority to act. 

At 4 o'clock Tuesday morning Secretary Bryan 
received a cablegram from Consul Canada, telling of the 
approach of a German vessel with a tremendous cargo of 
ammunition for Huerta. Locomotives and cars were in 
readiness to rush the arms to Mexico City. 

Mr. Bryan telephoned Secretary Tumulty, who decided 
to awaken the president. He telephoned the White House. 
The servants were timid, but Mr. Tumulty insisted. 

Finally the president came to the telephone, and while 
Secretary Tumulty was explaining the situation Secre- 
tary Daniels called up and was put on the same line. He, 
too, had a dispatch about the ammunition. Rear Admiral 
Fletcher had sent a wireless that 15,000,000 rounds of 
ammunition and 250 machine gnins would be landed from 
the German vessel by noon that day. 

The president listened in silence. 

* * What shall we do I " asked Secretary Daniels. 

* * Tell Fletcher to seize the custom house, ' ' replied the 
president, without hesitation. 

* ' Good night, ' ' said the secretary. The telephone con- 
ference ended and in a few minutes wireless dispatches 
were on their way to Rear Admiral Fletcher. He received 
the message at 10 A. M., and an hour later American 
marines had landed and taken possession of the custom 
house. The ammunition went back to its shippers in 
Europe. 

THE SECOND DAY's FIGHT 

Fighting was renewed in the City of Vera Cruz on 
Wednesday, April 22, when soldiers, citizens and convicts 
released by the Huerta officials fired down from roofs 
and windows on the American forces. The small guns 
on the warships in the harbor battered down some of the 
buildings they occupied. The Mexican loss was heavy 
and before nightfall the United States landing force had 



OCCUPATION OF VERA CRUZ 29 

obtained absolute control over the city and port. Two 
more Americans were killed and ten wonnded, bringing 
the total for the two days' fighting to six dead and 
thirty wonnded. 

After the general advance began in the morning, Mex- 
ican snipers on the roofs put up a stubborn resistance. 
There was one brisk action, the guns of the Prairie and 
Chester assisting in silencing a heavy fire from the Naval 
College, shells from the Prairie finally shattering the 
walls. 

The paymaster of the British cruiser Essex, Albert W. 
Kimber, was wounded on board his ship by a sniper 
ashore. British bluejackets crowded to the bows and 
vociferously cheered the American marines as they pro- 
ceeded inshore for the landing. The flags on the Essex 
and Fort San Juan de Ulna were half-masted when the 
dead were carried to the boats. 

Marines and bluejackets during the day occupied every 
important point in the city, including the Plaza de la 
Constitucion, where the Mexicans made their only real 
stand in the fighting the day before. 

Marines searched all houses from which shots were 
fired in the morning, and all Mexicans with arms in their 
hands were made prisoners and sent to the United States 
mine ship San Francisco. Some of the Mexicans were 
thoroughly frightened, apparently expecting that the 
Americans would shoot their prisoners. 

CITY THOKOUGHLY PATEOLLED 

Admiral Fletcher took up his headquarters at the Ter- 
minal Hotel. The entire city was strongly patrolled, and 
quiet prevailed at night. Admiral Fletcher took com- 
mand of the land operations, while Rear Admiral Badger, 
commander-in-chief of the Atlantic fleet, who had arrived 
with several battleships during the night, brought his flag 
into the harbor on the Minnesota. 

Admiral Badger had not decided whether to proceed to 



30 OCCUPATION OF VERA CRUZ 

Tampico, and it was believed his departure would be 
delayed, pending further orders from Washington. 

Detachments of men of the signal corps were posted on 
all the advantageous positions in the city to keep watch 
on the Mexican troops, and a reconnaissance was made 
by marines under Major Butler along the line of the 
railway to Mexico City. 

A GENERAL ADVANCE 

Rear Admiral Fletcher at 8 :30 o 'clock in the morning 
ordered a general movement for the occupation of all the 
town. A column of bluejackets advanced, and passed 
the uncompleted market place and Naval College. 

When they had reached the walls of the college a 
terrific rifle fire was poured in all directions from the 
roof and windows. The bluejackets were helpless to 
return the fire against the stone walls, and scattered. 

The Prairie, Chester and San Francisco then opened 
with their five and six-inch guns, and shattered the walls. 
The bluejackets re-formed and advanced against the fire, 
which had diminished greatly. 

By 10 o 'clock there was only desultory firing from the 
inshore side of the tower. Battalions of bluejackets had 
made their way along the water front to the southern 
end of the town, and cleared several streets, but the 
sniping from houses continued at intervals. 

The scout cruiser Chester pounded buildings on the 
outskirts with six-inch shells, firing over the heads of the 
men ashore and showing almost perfect marksmanship. 

The general movement from all the positions taken on 
Tuesday began in the direction of the main plaza. The 
marines under Lieutenant-Colonel Wendell C. Neville 
moved to the southward along parallel streets toward the 
center, while those under Lieutenant Commander Buch- 
anan, of the Florida, and Lieutenant Commander Arthur 
B. Keating, of the Arkansas, were ordered from their 
positions east of the center toward the plaza. 



OCCUPATION OF VERA CRUZ 31 

The two forces swung forward with a rush for three 
blocks. The machine gun and rifle fire was supplemented 
by shell fire from the smaller guns of the Prairie and 
Chester. The ships' guns supported the movement of 
clearing the roofs to the south and east, occasionally 
dropping a shell a few hundred yards in advance. 

There was absolutely no organized resistance, but from 
the beginning of the advance a smart fire came from the 
defenders on the house tops, which invariably drew a 
merciless fire from the advancing parties. 

The machine guns sounded their '" tap tap " in all 
quarters, and American sharpshooters, posted at street 
corners and other points of vantage, picked off any man 
who appeared to be acting suspiciously. 

Reinforcements were landed under the protection of 
the guns of the warships, bringing the total force ashore 
up to 3,000. 

MESSAGE TO THE MAYOR 

Julio Franco, a Mexican chosen by American Consul 
Canada to be the bearer of the warning from Admiral 
Fletcher, was unable to communicate with any of the 
Federal officials and only the mayor, Robert Diaz, could 
be located. 

When Franco tried to communicate with the mayor he 
was refused admission by Mexican guards stationed at 
the door. Franco then crawled over the roof of an adjoin- 
ing building into the court of the Diaz residence, but did 
not succeed in seeing the mayor. 

Senor Diaz refused to leave his bedroom, so the mes- 
senger shouted the contents of Admiral Fletcher's note 
to the mayor, and personally appealed to him to yield to 
save the city from bombardment, reminding him of the 
grave risk to the families of Mexicans and others in the 
city. 

GEN. MAAS' DEPARTUEB 

It was ascertained during the day that General Gustavo 



32 OCCUPATION OF VERA CRUZ 

Maas, commander of the garrison, left the city in a car- 
riage at noon on Tuesday, half an hour, after the first 
boatload of American marines landed. The commander's 
family followed him in another carriage. 

It was also stated that the Mexican troops forming the 
garrison of Vera Cruz were turned loose as soon as it 
was seen that the Americans were about to land, and were 
told to act as they saw fit. Very few of their officers 
remained with the Mexican soldiers, whose operations 
were carried on without any one to direct them. 

Some of the Mexican troops obtained a considerable 
supply of intoxicants by looting two stores. As a result, 
many were in a condition which made them equally dan- 
gerous to natives and foreigners who came within their 
range. 

Colonel Cerrillo was one of the few officers who 
remained. He was the commander of the Nineteenth bat- 
talion and was wounded in one arm early in the fighting. 
The Mexican troops had one seventy-five millimeter gun, 
which they used. 

Among the citizen element offering opposition to the 
American force were many prisoners who had been 
released by General Maas before he evacuated the city. 
Many of these criminals inaugurated their liberty by 
becoming intoxicated and then found a convenient outlet 
for their enthusiasm by joining the fighters on the house- 
tops. 

BOMBABDMENT WAS AVEETED. 

The principal reason for Admiral Fletcher's hesitation 
to bombard was that hundreds of non-combatants, includ- 
ing many women and children who had been unable to 
get out of the central part of the city, were crowded into 
the Diligencia Hotel building, from which most of the 
firing was done by the Mexicans. 

As the Americans advanced through the city for the 
purpose of clearing away any further possibility of resist- 




Mexicans pressed into service to remove dead and wounded at Vera Cruz 




A detail of bluejackets seeking the wounded after the second day's fight 

at Vera Cruz 





^ 


-u 










CS 








Mh 


'Zl 




O) 






CS 


>— 1 








TS 




Iliierta Blanquet 

\'ictoiiaiio Huerta and General Blanquet, his minister of war 



OCCUPATION OF VERA CRUZ 33 

ance there were many pitiful scenes when women with 
children in their arms besought mercy in the belief that 
they were about to be put to death. 

Special trains which left Mexico City Tuesday night 
with Americans aboard failed to arrive at Vera Cruz and 
it was feared the lines had been cut. Great uneasiness 
was felt regarding the Americans in the capital. It was 
believed, however, that General Huerta would take all 
possible steps to protect foreigners. 

The captain of the German steamer Ypirango readily 
acquiesced in the order of the American commander not 
to attempt to land the large cargo of munitions of war 
consigned to President Huerta, and placed his vessel at 
the disposal of Admiral Fletcher. He promised not to 
leave the harbor unless a norther compelled him to seek 
safety in the open sea. 

All the American women and children in the city went 
aboard the Ward liners Esperanza and Mexico by order 
of Admiral Fletcher. 

CAERANZA HEAED FROM 

The sensation of the day at Washington was a message 
from General Carranza, chief of the Constitutional rebels 
in the north of Mexico, demanding that the United States 
promptly evacuate the city of Vera Cruz. From the com- 
mencement of the Huerta regime President Wilson had 
supported Carranza, as the best hope of relief from the 
usurper. Now, at the first instant of American action, it 
appeared likely that the Constitutionalists would make 
common cause with Huerta against the Washington gov- 
ernment. On the following day, however. General Fran- 
cisco Villa, fighting head of all the Constitutional rebel 
forces in the north of Mexico, gave out an interview 
expressing his friendship for the United States and 
declaring that nothing could force him to take part in a 
war with his neighbors to the north. He expressed his 
full confidence in his chief, Carranza, and explained that 



34 OCCUPATION OF VERA CRUZ 

no offense to America was intended by the note of the 
latter. He referred to the usurper as that '* drunken 
little ass, Huerta." 

EXCITEMENT IN MEXICO CITY 

When news of the occupation of Vera Cruz reached 
Mexico City the excited people made attacks on some 
American buildings, tore down the statue of George 
Washington, and threatened the United States Embassy, 
which was guarded by a squad of Huerta soldiers. A 
trainload of American and other foreign refugees was 
sent to Vera Cruz, where they arrived safely after con- 
siderable delay en route. 

GEN. HUERTA 's ATTITUDE 

On receiving news of the occupation of Vera Cruz, 
General Huerta gave out the following statement in 
Mexico City: 

'' Mexico is defending not only her national sover- 
eignty, but that of all Latin America as well. This is not 
a war between the Mexican and American peoples, but 
between Mexico and the government of the United States, 
which is controlled by men who have forced this situation 
upon us in spite of our efforts to the contrary. 

^' We shall have 400,000 men in the field in twenty 
days." 

General Huerta also assured Charge 'Shaughnessy 
personally and in the friendliest tone that he and all 
Americans in Mexico City would be defended against all 
attack. 

General Huerta also made the following declaration in 
El Imparcial : 

* * In the port of Vera Cruz we are sustaining with arms 
the national honor against the outrage which the Yankee 
government is committing against a free people, as is and 
always will be that of this Republic. This action will 
pass on to history, which will put Mexico and the govern- 



OCCUPATION OF VERA CRUZ 35 

ment of the United States each in the place where it 
belongs." 

THE MAEINE COMMANDER 

Major S. D. Butler, who commanded the marines that 
landed in Vera Cruz, participated in the international 
expedition to Peking during the summer of 1900. At the 
fighting around Tientsin he was wounded and assisted 
from the field by Maj. Harry Leonard, U. S. M., who has 
since retired. As a result of his experience in the Chinese 
rebellion Maj. Butler was advanced in rank for ** eminent 
and conspicuous conduct in battle with the Peking relief 
column." He was appointed to the marine corps from 
civil life in 1899. 

The marines under Maj. Butler's command were those 
previously constituting the marine contingent in the 
Isthmian canal zone, regarding which Secretary of War 
Garrison remarked that they were the finest body of sol- 
diery he had ever seen, despite the fact that they wore 
the stars of a rival service. 

During their stay in the zone these marines had been 
assigned to duty in operating railroad trains and repair- 
ing tracks and bridges. 

PEAIEIE SIXTEEN "JEAES IN NAVY 

The United States navy transport Prairie was pur- 
chased from private owners in 1898. Previous to its incor- 
poration into the United States navy it had been a pas- 
senger and express steamer of the Morgan line, plying 
between New York, Galveston, and New Orleans. 

It was rechristened the Prairie upon entering the naval 
service, and was a sister ship of the Yankee and the Dixie. 

The Prairie, now classed as an armed transport, par- 
ticipated throughout the Spanish- American war as a con- 
verted cruiser of the second class. It has a displacement 
of 6,620 tons ; and is authorized to carry a complement, in 
addition to the naval officers and seamen, of twenty-three 



36 OCCUPATION OF VERA CRUZ 

marine officers and 750 marines. It is armed with twelve 
rapid fire guns of small caliber. 

MEXICO 'S BEST PORT 

There are very few towns in the Republic of Mexico 
that have such an interesting history as the city of Vera 
Cruz. Owing to its mercantile movement, it is the first 
port of the Republic. 

Vera Cruz has more than 33,000 inhabitants. It is 264 
miles from Mexico City by the Mexican railroad. The 
road was commenced in the year 1842, and the construc- 
tion took place during a period of thirty-four years. 

The works necessary for dredging the bay and the 
breakwaters for securing the safety of the port were 
under construction for more than three years. The com- 
plete area is about 570 acres, and now the port is in a 
condition to receive steamers of deep draft and heavy 
tonnage. The construction of the port works cost the 
federal government $26,704,782.85. The improvements 
were inaugurated on March 6, 1902, and have made Vera 
Cruz one of the most beautiful ports on the Mexican 
coast, and where steamers of large draft can enter and 
be securely sheltered during great storms. 

Vera Cruz is distinguished from the other towns of the 
Republic on account of its crooked streets and narrow 
lanes which run from the broad streets constructed sym- 
metrically at right angles. 

In the commercial part of the city the houses are of two 
and three stories and well constructed. Among other 
edifices may be mentioned the municipal palace, the par- 
ish church, the market, the Dehesa theater, the Hospital 
Zamora, the Cantonal school, and the Church of San 
Francisco, to which is joined the public library, from 
whose ancient tower shines the famous Juarez light. 

The inhabitants of the port are occupied with the busi- 
ness of exportation, importation, and the commission 



OCCUPATION OF VERA CRUZ 37 

business. There are also cigar and cigaret factories, 
match, soda water, ice and furniture factories. 

During the war between Mexico and the United States 
Gen. Scott, with an army of about 12,000, landed in the 
vicinity of Vera Cruz on March 9, 1847. He immediately 
invested the city, which, together with the castle of San 
Juan de Ulua, contained a garrison of about 4,500. 

On March 22, assisted by a fleet under Commander 
Perry, he began a terrific bombardment, which continued 
almost unabated for four days. On March 29 the Mex- 
icans surrendered. The Americans lost 11 killed and 56 
wounded and the Mexicans fully 1,000 in killed alone. 

TJ. S. WAKSHIPS IN MEXICO 

The United States warships in Mexican waters April 
23 were distributed as follows : 

Tampico— Connecticut, Des Moines, Dolphin, Solace, 

Cyclops. 

Vera Cruz— Arkansas, Florida, Utah, Vermont, New 
Jersey, New Hampshire, South Carolina, Minnesota, Han- 
cock, Prairie, Chester, San Francisco, Orion, and the 
destroyers Fanning, Beale, Jarvis, Jenkins, Jouett, Hen- 
ley, Drayton, McCall, Warrington, Patterson, Spalding, 
Ammen, Burrows and Trippe. 

Guaymas — Justin. 

Mazatlan— California, Raleigh. 

Topolobampo— Glacier, Yorktown. 

Salina Cruz— Annapolis en route from Acapulco, Den- 
ver en route from Corinto. 

GUAKD APPEOACHES TO THE CITY 

On Thursday, April 23, the American forces in Vera 
Cruz moved their lines some miles outside the city limits 
to guard the railroad and bridges on the road to Mexico 
City. In these movements three more Americans were 
killed and twenty-five wounded. 

It was reported that Carranza had refused offers from 



38 OCCUPATION OF YE^BA CRUZ 

the Huerta forces to make common cause with them 
against the Americans. 

The following days were devoted to cleaning up the 
city of Vera Cruz and establishing a civil government 
with Robert J. Kerr, of Chicago, an attorney-at-law who 
happened to t>e in the city, as temporary governor. 

The old fortress prison of San Juan de Ulua was closed 
by Admiral Fletcher, on account of its dirty and insani- 
tary condition. Many political prisoners held captive 
there were set at liberty. 

Admiral Fletcher also made arrangements for the 
exchange of Mexican prisoners and American refugees 
from the capital and other interior points, and the 
exchange was effected at a point on the railroad some 
miles from Vera Cruz. News of the mediation plan pro- 
posed at Washington reached the city on Sunday. 

General Funston and the soldiers of the Fifth Brigade, 
United States Regulars, arrived late on Monday night, 
April 27, off the port, but no attempt was made to land 
pending a conference between Admiral Fletcher and the 
general, which occurred next day. 

On Wednesday, General Funston 's soldiers, 4,000 
strong, were landed and it was announced that on Thurs- 
day they would take over the control of the city. 

Next day occurred, with most impressive and inspiring 
ceremonies, the transfer of the city of Vera Cruz from 
the navy to the army. The men of the navy went back 
to their ships, leaving behind them only the marines who 
went to Mexico on the transports and who remained 
ashore to support the army in policing the city and the 
surrounding territory. The people of the city had 
already begun to feel the good effects of American occu- 
pancy in the way of greater security to life and property 
and better sanitary conditions. 

FEEKOE FIGHTING AT TAMPIOO 

From Tampico came reports of fierce fighting about the 



OCCUPATION OF VERA CRUZ 39 

city, the rebels pushing their advance as far as possible. 
Carranza gave a shock to the adherents of the peace plan 
by issuing an order for 12,000 additional troops to go 
to the aid of the rebel forces. 

Rear-Admiral Howard, in command of the United 
States fleet on the Pacific coast, reported that the rebels 
were active in their attempts to capture Mazatlan and 
other western cities. 

A MILITAEY GOVEENMENT 

Orders sent to General Fnnston May 1 from Washing- 
ton instructed him to set up a complete military govern- 
ment over the city of Vera Cruz and this he proceeded to 
do, the civil governor, Robert J. Kerr, relinquishing his 
office. 

Bodies of Huertistas were seen in the vicinity of Vera 
Cruz during the week ending May 1, but no organized 
attack came from them, though many desultory shots 
were fired at the American outposts. On May 2 a com- 
pany of General Maas' troops appeared at the water- 
works pumping station outside the city and demanded 
the surrender of the marine guard. Their demand was 
of course refused and General Funston promptly sent 
strong reinforcements to guard the waterworks. 

An armistice between the American and Huerta forces 
was understood to exist May 1, pending the result of 
mediatory efforts, although the Constitutionalists under 
Carranza refused to agree to any truce in their war upon 
Huerta and continued a fierce attack upon Tampico. But, 
despite the armistice. General Funston believed that more 
troops were needed at Vera Cruz and on May 5 it was 
announced at Washington that another brigade of 
approximately 4,000 troops would be despatched to the 
Mexican city forthwith. 

It was also announced at Washington that no definite 
arrangements had been made with Huerta for a truce 
and that General Maas, who was said to be gathering a 



40 OCCUPATION OF VERA CEUZ 

force of 13,000 Federals at Saltillo, might attack Vera 
Cruz at any time. Carranza's refusal to agree to a 
general armistice had relieved General Maas from any 
obligation to notify General Funston of the termination 
of the tacit armistice which had existed for some days. 
He was at liberty under the rules of The Hague conven- 
tions and international law to attack whenever he saw 
fit. Under these circumstances the situation at Vera 
Cruz was regarded as critical. The American forces 
under General Funston had been distributed at strategi- 
cal points inside and outside the city, and a strong guard 
was maintained at the waterworks, nine miles distant. 

A number of Americans were reported held prisoners 
by General Maas outside of Vera Cruz and six hundred 
American refugees in the City of Mexico were endeavor- 
ing on May 5 to secure transportation to the coast. There 
was daily fighting at Tampico between the Constitutional- 
ist and Federal forces, the latter holding the city, and 
grave fears were entertained for the safety of the oil 
wells in the vicinity. 

At the National Palace in Mexico City, May 5, Huerta 
denied reports of his intention to resign and said: 
*' What the people gave to me I will not relinquish." 
There were persistent reports at Vera Cruz of con- 
spiracies against Huerta at the capital. 

General Maas endeavored to secure the cooperation of 
General Villa, the Constitutionalist leader, in an attack 
upon the United States troops at Vera Cruz, but Villa 
positively refused to consider any alliance with the 
Huerta forces. 



CHAPTEE II 
THE TAMPICO INCIDENT 

The causes that led to the occupation of Vera Cruz by 
the United States were of a cumulative character. 
Trouble with the Huerta government had been foreseen 
for months, as it was surely brewing in consequence of 
repeated acts of an unfriendly character by Huerta 
officers and troops and the generally hostile treatment of 
Americans resident in Mexico. 

A climax was reached in the city of Tampico on the 
afternoon of Thursday, April 9, 1914. An American 
squadron under Rear-Admiral Mayo lay in the harbor, 
and a paymaster and boat's crew were sent from the 
Dolphin to another vessel. Their boat was a gasoline 
launch, and after completing their errand they landed to 
secure a supply of gasoline. A Mexican Federal officer 
arrested the paymaster and part of the boat's crew in 
the streets soon after their landing and two of the men 
who had been left as boatkeepers were ordered out of the 
boat, at the stern of which flew the United States naval 
flag, and also placed under arrest. They were marched 
through the streets under guard and locked up in jail 
by officers of the Huerta forces occupying Tampico. 

When they were released and allowed to go back to 
their ship Rear-Admiral Mayo, in command of the United 
States fleet in the harbor, made prompt demands for 
reparation on General Zaragoza, in command of the 
Huerta forces. 

41 



42 THE TAMPICO INCIDENT 

A SALUTE DEMANDED 

An apology for the outrage, punisliment of the offend- 
ing officers, and a salute of twenty-one guns to the stars 
and stripes, to be fired within twenty-four hours, was the 
admiral's ultimatum. 

The matter was referred to General Huerta, at the capi- 
tal. He disavowed the act of his subordinates, made 
apology, and stated that the officer responsible for the 
arrest should be duly subjected to discipline. This might 
seem to have closed the incident, but an incident of this 
kind is usually concluded by the firing of a salute, indica- 
tive of respect for the sovereignty of a country which, 
through its uniformed forces, has been treated with 
i-ndignity. Admiral Mayo demanded such a salute, but 
for some reason, General Huerta and his governmental 
and military chiefs decided to refuse to salute the flag of 
the United States, except under conditions not deemed 
appropriate by our authorities. For example, a full 
salute as closing a grave diplomatic incident requires the 
firing of twenty-one guns. The Mexicans, however, pro- 
posed to minimize the affair by a salute of five guns. 
All of which, in view of a vast country swept by the 
almost incredible horrors of civil warfare, seemed, in the 
words of a current writer, " very much like trifling over 
points of etiquette in the presence of death and 
destruction. ' ' 

Huerta had just persuaded the banks of Mexico City to 
advance him $5,000,000 a month to pay his expenses, and 
this probably influenced his action, stiffening his resolve 
to resist all demands by the United States in order, if 
possible, to unite the Mexican people. Federals and Con- 
stitutionalists, in face of a foreign opponent. 

Villa, fighting man of the Constitutional rebels of the 
north, had ordered all the Spanish residents out of his 
territory and his chief, Carranza, had answered with a 
snub the protest of the United States government. John 



THE TAMPICO INCIDENT 43 

Lind, President Wilson *s unofficial envoy in Mexico, had 
returned to Washington to make a final report of prac- 
tical failure in his mission. He was decidedly embittered 
against Huerta, and naturally so. 

AN" INTOLERABLE SITUATION" 

By this time the entire Mexican situation had become 
intolerable. If not the arrest of the Dolphin's boat crew, 
some other trifle must have brought the crisis. 

In the meantime, as if to add emphasis to the first 
insult, the mail orderly of the United States fleet in the 
harbor at Vera Cruz, going ashore in full uniform to get 
his mail, was arrested by the Mexican police. 

These unavenged insults to the flag deeply incensed 
President Wilson at Washington. Acting on his instruc- 
tions. Charge 'Shaughnessy in Mexico City notified the 
Huerta government that Admiral Mayo's demands must 
be complied with in full. Through his foreign minister, 
Huerta replied that an apology and the punishment of 
the offending officers was sufficient reparation and all that 
he would grant. When Mr. 'Shaughnessy made a sec- 
ond attempt to see Huerta he was bluntly informed that 
he would not be received. 

WAESHIPS OEDEEED TO MEXICO 

On Tuesday, April 14, after two conferences with his 
cabinet and with navy officials. President Wilson ordered 
the entire Atlantic and Pacific war fleets of the United 
States to concentrate in Mexican waters. That started 
fifteen battleships and about twenty-five auxiliary vessels 
for the eastern coast of Mexico, and fifteen cruisers and 
minor vessels for the west. Meanwhile Villa and his 
rebels won a big battle at San Pedro de Los Colonias, 
forty miles from Torreon, wiping out a force of 3,500 
Huertistas. Later Villa captured Torreon. 

Next day there were many conferences in Washington, 
with the purpose of getting the army ready to aid the 



44 THE TAMPICO INCIDENT 

forces of the navy in Mexico. President Wilson con- 
ferred with the foreign affairs committee of the Senate 
and an official statement was issued setting forth that 
the outrages at Tampico and Vera Cruz were only two 
of many insults offered by the Huerta government to the 
government of the United States. Among the most seri- 
ous of these were the holding up by Huerta censors of 
official dispatches sent by the State Department to Charge 
'Shaughnessy in Mexico City. 

huekta's vacillation 

Alarmed by the developments and by the defeat of his 
troops at San Pedro, Huerta, on Thursday, April 16, 
announced that he would obey the demand of the United 
States government and salute the flag by firing twenty- 
one guns at Tampico. The decision of the dictator was 
received with relief by the Wilson administration, which 
had been striving to avoid anything approaching hostili- 
ties. But the battleships kept on steaming toward Mexi- 
can waters. 

Overnight came another sudden change on the part of 
Huerta. The dictator announced that he would fire the 
salute demanded only on condition that each of his guns 
should be answered by an echoing shot from a United 
States battleship. 

It was announced at Washington that as soon as the 
ships reached Mexico they would seize the Huerta gun- 
boats guarding the harbor of Tampico and thus allow the 
forces of Villa and Carranza to take that city from 
Huerta. And the battle fleets were rapidly nearing the 
Mexican coasts. 

PKESIDENT WILSON 's ULTIMATUM 

On Saturday, April 18, President Wilson announced in" 
Washington that unless Huerta fired the salute of twenty- 
one guns by 6 o 'clock on Sunday evening he would on the 
following Monday personally lay the matter before Con- 



ij 



THE TAMPICO INCIDENT 45 

gress and ask for authority to use the land and naval 
forces of the United States against Huerta. It was said 
that the presidential plan was to declare and enforce a 
** pacific blockade " against all the ports of Mexico. 

At 8 o'clock on Sunday evening, April 19, the final 
reply came from Huerta. He would not agree to fire the 
salute demanded, and even denied that the United States 
flag was flying from the launch in Tampico 's harbor when 
the sailors were taken from it. 

President Wilson left Washington to spend Sunday, 
out of the city. American refugees from Mexico City 
began to arrive in large numbers at Vera Cruz. 

It looked like war and in many parts of the United 
States war meetings were held and volunteers offered 
themselves to the government. 

THE PEESIDENT BEFOEE CONGEESS 

On Monday, April 20, President Wilson appeared 
before Congress and asked for approval of his proposed 
action in using the army and navy against Huerta and 
his adherents. He disclaimed any possibility of making 
war on the Mexican people, or any idea of aggression or 
selfish aggrandizement. 

Following is the full text of the president's message, 
delivered in person: 

PEESiDENT Wilson's appeal to congeess 

Gentlemen of the Congress : It is my duty to call your 
attention to a situation which has arisen in our dealings 
with Gen. Victoriano Huerta at Mexico City, which calls 
for action, and to ask your advice and co-operation in 
acting upon it. 

On the 9th of April a paymaster of the U. S. S. Dolphin 
landed at the Iturbide bridge landing at Tampico with a 
whale-boat and boat's crew, to take off certain supplies 
needed by his ship, and while engaged in loading the boat 
was arrested by an officer and squad of men of the army 



46 THE TAMPICO INCIDENT 

of Gen. Huerta. Neither the paymaster nor any one of 
the boat 's crew was armed. Two of the men were in the 
boat when the arrest took place and were obliged to leave 
it and submit to be taken into custody, notwithstanding 
the fact that the boat carried, both at her bow and at her 
stern, the flag of the United States. 

The officer who made the arrest was proceeding up one 
of the streets of the town with his prisoners when met by 
an officer of higher authority, who ordered him to return 
to the landing and await orders, and within an hour and 
a half from the time of the arrest orders were received 
from the commander of the Huertista forces at Tampico 
for the release of the paymaster and his men. 

APOLOGIZE AFTER RELEASE 

The release was followed by apologies from the com- 
mander and later by an expression of regret by Gen. 
Huerta himself. Gen. Huerta urged that martial law 
obtained at the time at Tampico; that orders had been 
issued that no one should be allowed to land at the Itur- 
bide bridge, and that our sailors had no right to land 
there. 

Our naval commanders at the port had not been notified 
of any such prohibition, and, even if they had been, the 
only justifiable course open to the local authorities would 
have been to request the paymaster and his crew to with- 
draw and to lodge a protest with the commanding officer 
of the fleet. 

Admiral Mayo regarded the arrest as so serious an 
affront that he was not satisfied with the apologies 
offered, but demanded that the flag of the United States 
be saluted with special ceremony by the military com- 
mander of the port. 

I 

CANNOT BE DEEMED TRIVLLL '* 

The incident cannot be regarded as a trivial one, 
especially as two of the men arrested were taken from 



THE TAMPICO INCIDENT 47 

the boat itself — tliat is to say, from the territory of the 
United States. But had it stood by itself it might have 
been attributed to the ignorance or arrogance of a single 
officer. Unfortunately, it was not an isolated case. A 
series of incidents have recently occurred which cannot 
but create the impression that the representatives of Gen. 
Huerta were willing to go out of their way to show dis- 
regard for the dignity and rights of this government and 
felt perfectly safe in doing what they pleased, making 
free to show in many ways their irritation and contempt. 

A few days after the incident at Tampico an orderly 
from the U. S. S. Minnesota was arrested at Vera Cruz 
while ashore in uniform to obtain the ship 's mail and was 
for a time thrown into jail. An official dispatch from this 
government to its embassy at Mexico City was withheld 
by the authorities of the telegraphic service until per- 
emptorily demanded by our charge d'affaires in person. 

So far as I can learn, such wrongs and annoyances 
have been suffered only to occur against representatives 
of the United States. I have heard of no complaints from 
other governments of similar treatment. Subsequent 
explanations and formal apologies did not and could not 
alter the popular impression, which it is possible it had 
been the object of the Huertista authorities to create, 
that the government of the United States was being 
singled out and might be singled out with impunity for 
slights and affronts in retaliation for its refusal to recog- 
nize the pretensions of Gen. Huerta to be regarded as 
the constitutional provisional president of the republic 
of Mexico. 

DANGER OF THE SITUATION 

The manifest danger of such a situation was that such 
offenses might grow from bad to worse until something 
happened of so gross and intolerable a sort as to lead 
directly and inevitably to armed conflict. It was neces- 
sary that the apologies of Gen. Huerta and his repre- 



48 THE TAMPICO INCIDENT 

sentatives should go much further, that they should be 
such as to attract the attention of the whole population 
to their significance and such as to impress upon Gen. 
Huerta himself the necessity of seeing to it that no 
further occasion for explanations and professed regrets 
should arise. I, therefore, felt it my duty to sustain 
Admiral Mayo in the whole of his demand and to insist 
that the flag of the United States should be saluted in 
such a way as to indicate a new spirit and attitude on the 
part of the Huertistas. 

Such a salute Gen. Huerta has refused, and I have come 
to ask your approval and support in the course I now 
purpose to pursue. 

CAN 't be FOECED INTO WAB 

This government can, I earnestly hope, in no circum- 
stances be forced into war with the people of Mexico. 
Mexico is torn by civil strife. If we are to accept the 
tests of its own constitution, it has no government. Gen. 
Huerta has set his power up in the City of Mexico, such 
as it is, without right and by methods for which there 
can be no justification. Only part of the country is under 
his control. If armed conflict should unhappily come as 
a result of this attitude of personal resentment toward 
this government, we should be fighting only Gen. Huerta 
and those who adhere to him and give him their support, 
and our object would be only to restore to the people of 
the distracted republic the opportunity to set up again 
their own laws and their own government. 

But I earnestly hope that war is not now in question. 
I believe that I speak for the American people when I 
say that we do not desire to control in any degree the 
affairs of our sister republic. 

GENUINE FEIEND OF MEXICO 

Our feeling for the people of Mexico is one of deep 
and genuine friendship, and everything that we have so 




Rear Admiral Mayo, U. S. N., in command of squadron at Tampico, who 
demanded satisfaction for insult to American flag 




Bio- guns of the battleship '■ New York" 




In readiness for action — main battery of the " Wyoming " 




. NELSON O'SHAUGHNESSY 
United States chargg d'affaires at Mexico City during controversy with 
Huerta, who handed him his passports with expressions 
of personal regret 




2 "" 

be en 






"W: 





THE TAMPICO INCIDENT 49 

far done or refrained from doing has proceeded from our 
desire to help them, not to hinder or embarrass them. 
We would not wish even to exercise the good offices of 
friendship without their welcome and consent. 

The people of Mexico are entitled to settle their own 
domestic affairs in their own way and we sincerely desire 
to respect their right. The present situation need have 
none of the grave complications of interference if we 
deal with it promptly, firmly and wisely. 

No doubt, I could do what is necessary in the circum- 
stances to enforce respect for our government without 
recourse to the congress and yet not exceed my constitu- 
tional powers as president ; but I do not wish to act in a 
matter possibly of so grave consequence except in close 
conference and co-operation with both the senate and the 
house. 

TO TJSE FOKCE AGAINST HTJEBTA 

I, therefore, come to ask your approval that I should 
use the armed forces of the United States in such ways 
and to such an extent as may be necessary to obtain from 
Gen. Huerta and his adherents the fullest recognition of 
the rights and dignity of the United States, even amid the 
distressing conditions now unhappily obtaining in Mexico. 

There can, in what we do, be no thought of aggression 
or of selfish aggrandizement. We seek to maintain the 
dignity and authority of the United States only because 
we wish always to keep our great influence unimpaired 
for the uses of liberty, both in the United States and 
wherever else it may be employed for the benefit of 
mankind. 

DEBATE IN CONGEESS 

In the House of Representatives there was sharp debate 
before the final passage at a night session of the resolu- 
tion which ' ' justified the use of the armed forces of the 
United States in enforcing certain demands against Vic- 



50 THE TAMPICO INCIDENT 

toriano Huerta. ' ' It was supported by practically all the 
Democrats, by most of the Progressives, and opposed by 
thirty Republicans. The final vote was 337 in favor of 
the resolution and 37 against it. 

DELAY IN THE SENATE 

In the Senate there was some delay. Republican sen- 
ators and some of the Democrats insisted that so serious 
a step ought not to be taken without giving to the world 
a more complete justification than the mere statement 
that Huerta had insulted the flag. 

Then Senator Lodge introduced a substitute reso- 
lution declaring that a state of anarchy had long existed 
in Mexico, that American citizens had been murdered and 
their property destroyed, and that, disclaiming any hos- 
tility against the Mexican people, the United States was 
justified in using its armed forces for the protection of 
its people and the enforcement of its rights. 

In the hope of hastening action. President Wilson per- 
sonally visited the capitol Monday evening and conferred 
with his supporters. Shortly after midnight the Senate 
adjourned without completing the debate or passing any 
resolution. 

Huerta issued a proclamation declaring that all aliens 
in his capital would be safeguarded. American merchant 
vessels were ordered to leave the port of Vera Cruz, and 
there was a rush of refugees from Tampico, Vera Cruz, 
and Mexico City. 

On Monday night President Wilson, without waiting 
for the passage of the Senate resolution, sent orders to 
Rear- Admiral Fletcher to seize the custom house at Vera 
Cruz and hold it with a detachment of sailors and 
marines. The result was as described in the preceding 
chapter. 

In the Senate at Washington a hot debate raged all 
day Tuesday over the wording of the resolution author- 
izing the use of armed force. Senator Root led the fight 



THE TAMPICO INCIDENT 51 

for making the resolution express more than merely the 
indignation of the United States at insults to its flag and 
uniform. He and his adherents succeeded in cutting the 
name of Huerta out of the resolution. It finally passed 
by a vote of 72 to 13, after an all-night session, in the 
early hours of Wednesday morning. The text of the 
Senate substitute resolution, which was promptly 
accepted by the House, was as follows : 

** In view of the facts presented by the president of 
the United States in his address delivered to the Congress 
in joint session the 20th day of April, 1914, in regard to 
certain affronts and indignities committed against the 
United States in Mexico, be it 

*' Resolved, That the president is justified in the em- 
ployment of the armed forces of the United States to 
enforce his demands for unequivocal amends for affronts 
and indignities committed against the United States ; be 
it further 

** Resolved, That the United States disclaims any hos- 
tility to the Mexican people or any purpose to make war 
upon them." 

SENATOE boot's EEASONS 

In the course of his speech on the resolution Senator 
Elihu Root said : 

*' Lying behind the insult to the American flag are 
the lives of Americans destroyed, Americans reduced 
to poverty because of the destruction of their property. 
Lying behind it is a condition of anarchy in Mexico, a 
condition which makes it impossible to secure protection 
for American life and property. It is that which makes 
necessary the demand that public respect be paid the 
flag of the United States. 

'' There is our justification. It is a justification lying 
not in Victoriano Huerta or in his conduct alone, but 
in the universal conduct of affairs in Mexico and the 
real object to be attained by the course which we are 



52 THE TAMPICO INCIDENT 

asked to approve is not the gratification of personal 
pride; it is not the satisfaction of a government or of 
an admiral, it is the desire of the United States to pro- 
tect its citizens under these conditions. 

** If we omit from this resolution that we are to pass 
here tonight, the matters included in the substitute pre- 
amble we omit the real reasons behind the action. On 
the facts in the resolution as reported by the committee 
we would be everlastingly wrong. On the facts in the 
substitute we could rest before the world, and before 
history, secure. 

** Ah, Mr. President," he said in a voice that sank 
almost to a whisper, and the galleries leaned forward 
breathlessly to hear; " the capture of Vera Cruz, the 
death of our American marines, the wounds and the 
suffering of those who live there tonight, demand some- 
thing more, far more, than a formal insult, for justifica- 
tion. The recitals of the substitute preamble are weak 
in the face of death and suffering in Vera Cruz tonight. 
The substitute preamble is weak, but it gives formal, 
adequate grounds, for the great formidable movement 
of the great naval and military power of this govern- 
ment ; it gives the justification that is needed." 

It developed in Washington that Special Envoy John 
Lind had predicted to the committees of Congress that 
Vera Cruz and Tampico could be occupied without blood- 
shed and that the Carranza forces would approve such 
occupation. 

O 'SHAUGHNESSY HANDED PASSPOETS 

On "Wednesday, April 22, the day after the American 
forces landed at Vera Cruz, Mr. Nelson 'Shaughnessy, 
United States charge d'affaires in the City of Mexico, 
was handed his passports. They were accompanied by 
a note from the Huerta secretary for foreign affairs, of 
which the following is a verbatim translation: 

*' Mr. Charge d 'Affaires: Assuredly your honor 



THE TAMPICO INCIDENT 53 

knows that the marines of the American ships of war 
anchored off the port of Vera Cruz, availing themselves 
of the circumstance that the Mexican authorities had 
given them access to the harbor of the town because they 
considered their presence was of a friendly character, 
disembarked yesterday with their arms and uniforms and 
possessed themselves by surprise of the principal public 
buildings without giving time for the women and children 
in the streets, the sick, and other noncombatants, to place 
themselves in safety. 

'' This act was contrary to international usages. If 
these usages do not demand, as held by many states, a 
previous declaration of war, they impose at least the 
duty of not violating humane consideration or good faith 
by people whom the country which they are in has 
received as friends and who therefore should not take 
advantage of that circumstance to commit hostile acts. 

" These acts of the armed forces of the United States 
I do not care to qualify in this note, out of deference to 
the fact that your honor personally has observed toward 
the Mexican government and people a most strictly cor- 
rect conduct, so far as that has been possible to you in 
your character as the representative of a government 
with which we have been in such serious difficulties as 
those existing. 

*' Regarding the initiation of war against Mexico this 
ministry reserves to itself the right of presenting to other 
powers the events and considerations pertinent to this 
matter, in order that they as members of the concert of 
nations may judge of the conduct of the two nations and 
adopt an attitude which they may deem proper in view 
of this deplorable outrage upon our nation's sovereignty. 

" The president of the Republic of Mexico has seen fit 
to terminate, as I have the honor to communicate to your 
honor, the diplomatic mission which your honor has until 
now discharged. You will have the goodness to retire 
from Mexican territory. To that end I inclose your pass- 



54 THE TAMPICO INCIDENT 

port, at the same time informing you that, as is the 
diplomatic custom on such occasions, a special train will 
be at your disposal with a guard sufficient to protect your 
honor, your family, and your staff, although the Mexican 
people are sufficiently civilized to respect even without 
this protection your honor and those accompanying you.j 
* ' I take this opportunity to reiterate to your honor the] 
assurances of my highest consideration. 

*' (Signed) Jose Lopez Portillo y Rojas.'^ 

MR. o'sHAITGHNESSY's STORY 

Here is Nelson O'Shaughnessy's own story of the nego- 
tiation with Huerta in the Mexican capital, following the 
Tampico incident, as he told it on his arrival at Vera 
Cruz, April 27, after being handed his passports by the 
provisional government : 

" It became apparent early in the developments aris- 
ing from the Tampico flag incident that the situation was 
fraught with ominous possibilities, although it was my 
opinion almost to the last minute that Huerta would 
recede from a position that made it impossible for Wash- 
ington to adjust matters as Huerta wanted them adjusted. 

** You must understand that had Huerta waived his 
insistence upon a return salute to the Mexican flag by 
the United States — which act would have implied a 
recognition by our government — the Tampico incident 
would have been unquestionably closed. 

HUERTA LOSING PRESTIGE 

' * The situation was rapidly getting worse in the coun- 
try and Huerta was growing less able to resist success- 
fully the rebels, to say nothing of making headway 
against them. 

* ' The loss of Torreon was a great blow to the Federal 
government, although it tried its best to minimize its 
importance. But it hurt, and hurt badly. 

** When I received the first information of the arrest 



THE TAMPICO INCIDENT 55 

of the Dolphin's sailors and of Admiral Mayo's demands 
— which, by the way, came to me first through the Mexi- 
can foreign office, which had been communicated with by 
General Zaragoza before my information from Washing- 
ton reached me — it was too late to do anything. 

* ' That was Friday, April 10, and according to the time 
limit fixed by Admiral Mayo, satisfaction had to be given 
by 6 o'clock that night. 

PIFDS DIOTATOB ASLEEP 

" Everyone who has had experience in dealing with 
Mexican officials knows how difficult it is to stir them to 
quick action under the most favorable conditions. 

" After several hours' search I finally caught up with 
Huerta at his house, where he was taking a siesta. Not 
even my strongest representations of the extremity and 
urgency of the case could induce his aids to arouse him, 
so I was forced to go away and return again in an hour. 

** When I finally did see Huerta, we discussed the Tam- 
pico incident most amicably. His expressions indicated 
a considerable displeasure that the arrest of the Dolphin 's 
people should have been permitted. 

*' He gave me the impression that he was much incensed 
at the stupidity of the officer who was responsible for it, 
and who had added to Huerta 's troubles by his blunder- 
ing step. 

FEAKED OPEN BKEAK 

" It is interesting to note that, in spite of his frequent 
public explosions against our policy toward him and hia 
outward attitude of defiance and indifference to anything 
we might do, Huerta was always very careful to allow 
nothing to be done that would bring about an open break 
between Washington and his government. 

** Huerta sent for me and we talked for a long time. 
I went away with a distinct impression that he had 
receded from his position regarding recognition and that 



56 THE TAMPICO INCIDENT 

he would come to a satisfactory understanding with my 
government, and I so communicated to Washington. 

' ' Later I ascertained that I had apparently misunder- 
stood what Huerta had said. This threw negotiations 
back to the original status ; so we got nowhere. 

THOUGHT UNITED STATES WAS BLUFFING 

* ' I firmly believe that Huerta was skeptical that "Wash- 
ington would press matters to the point of armed occu- j 
pation of either Tampico or Vera Cruz, I think he had ' 
probably the mental reservation that, if things grew too 
cloudy, he would draw back at the last moment. 

'' Palpably, he had not the slightest appreciation of the 
considerations which had prevented Washington from 
taking decisive steps in Mexico before this point had been 
reached. ' * 

TROOPS OEDERED TO VERA CRUZ 

On Thursday night, April 23, President Wilson, yield- 
ing to the earnest appeals of the navy and army officers, 
ordered that the Fifth Brigade, United States Regular 
Infantry, should embark at Galveston for Vera Cruz. 
Four army transports were lying in Galveston harbor 
and the work of loading the 4,500 men and their equip- 
ment into the ships was begun at once. Brigadier Gen- 
eral Frederick Funston was assigned to command the 
troops. 

The transports sailed from Galveston at 5 o'clock Fri- 
day evening, carrying only the soldiers, their ammuni- 
tion, and sufficient equipment for active service in the 
field. 

Thursday evening Secretary of War Garrison sent 
orders to stop the delivery of ammunition and arms to 
the forces of Carranza and Villa across the Texas border. 
This order President Wilson, in his desire to confine hos- 
tilities to the Huerta sphere of influence and anxious not 
to offend Carranza, was inclined to cancel. He finally, 



THE TAMPICO INCIDENT 57 

however, yielded to the military officials and allowed the 
embargo to stand. It developed that some 7,500 rifles 
and a large amount of ammunition stood ready for deliv- 
ery to the rebels. 

A resolution appropriating $500,000 to aid American 
refugees from Mexico, which was passed by the Senate 
on Thursday, was signed by President Wilson. 

AMERICANS IN DANGER 

The Huerta forces evacuated Nuevo Laredo, the Mexi- 
can town across the Rio Grande from Laredo, Tex., burn- 
ing the city and making several attempts to destroy the 
international bridge across the river. There was some 
firing between the retiring Mexicans and troops and citi- 
zens on the American side of the river. 

Reports came from Mexico City and from various 
points along the railroad that citizens of the United States 
had been taken from trains and were being held as 
hostages by order of Huerta. Secretary of State Bryan 
had word that one party of twenty, including one British 
citizen, had been dragged from a train at Tierra Blanca 
by Huerta soldiers and were in imminent danger of 
execution. 

All day April 25, there were reports from many parts 
of Mexico that Americans were being prevented from 
leaving the country — in some instances dragged from 
trains and locked up in jail under orders from the Huerta 
government. 

Fresh reports were received of riots in Mexico City. 
It was declared that in every large city in the Republic 
Americans were being detained as hostages. At Wash- 
ington it was announced that Major-Greneral Leonard 
Wood had been ordered to the Texas frontier to take 
general charge of operations. 

Late in the afternoon of April 25 the ambassador from 
Brazil and the ministers from Argentina and Chile called 
on Secretary of State Bryan in Washington. The casual 



58 THE TAMPICO INCIDENT 

announcement was made in a bulletin from the national 
capital and attracted little attention. 

But a few hours later official announcement was made 
that President Wilson * * had accepted the offer of Brazil, 
Argentina, and Chile to use their good offices in an 
attempt to bring about a peaceful and friendly settlement 
of the difficulty between the United States and Mexico." 



I 



CHAPTER III 
MEDIATION BY DIPLOMATS 

A surprise was in store for those who regarded war as 
inevitable, when on April 25 it was announced at Wash- 
ington and immediately telegraphed broadcast over the 
country that President Wilson had accepted the good 
offices of Argentina, Brazil, and Chile for the mediation 
of the differences existing between the United States and 
'* those who speak for the several elements of the Mexi- 
can people. ' ' 

Although the offer made by the three South American 
countries did not reveal their plans, it was learned that 
they contemplate a broad settlement of the Mexican prob- 
lem through the elimination of Huerta, upon which the 
United States had insisted from the beginning. 

The note of acceptance, while agreeing to the sugges- 
tion, reservedly pointed out that an act of aggression by 
the military forces of Mexico or hostile demonstration 
toward Americans might upset hopes of iromediate peace. 

The offer of mediation, addressed to Secretary of State 
Bryan, was in the following terms : 

* ' With the purpose of subserving the interest of peace 
and civilization in our continent and with the earnest 
desire to prevent any further bloodshed to the prejudice 
of the cordiality and union which have always surrounded 
the relations of the governments and the people of Amer- 
ica, we, the plenipotentiaries of Brazil, Argentina, and 
Chile, duly authorized hereto, have the honor to tender to 
your excellency's government our good offices for the 

59 



60 MEDIATION BY DIPLOMATS 

peaceful and friendly settlement of the conflict between 
the United States and Mexico. 

" This offer puts in due form the suggestions which 
we have had occasion to offer heretofore on this subject 
to the secretary, to whom we renew our highest and most 
distinguished consideration. 

'* DoMicio Da Gama, Brazil. 

" RoMXJLo S. Naon, Argentina. 

*' Eduakdo Suakez Mujica, Chile." 

KEPLY OF PRESroENT WILSON" 

To the above President Wilson promptly returned the 
following reply : 

i i Tjjg government of the United States is deeply sens- 
ible of the friendliness, the good feeling, and the generous 
concern for the peace and welfare of America manifested 
in the joint note just received from your excellencies 
offering the good offices of your governments to effect 
if possible a settlement of the present difficulty between 
the government of the United States and those who now 
claim to represent our sister republic of Mexico. 

** Conscious of the purpose with which the proffer is 
made, this government does not feel at liberty to 
decline it. 

** Its own chief interest is in the peace of America, the| 
cordial intercourse of her republics and their people,' 
and the happiness and prosperity which can spring only 
out of frank, mutual understanding and the friendship 
which is created by common purpose. 

i i rpiie generous offer of your governments is therefore 
accepted. 

* ' This government hopes most earnestly that you may 
find those who speak for the several elements of the 
Mexican people willing and ready to discuss terms of 
satisfactory and therefore permanent settlement. If you 
should find them willing, this government will be glad to 
take up with you for discussion in the frankest and most 



MEDIATION BY DIPLOMATS 61 

conciliatory spirit any proposals that may be authorita- 
tively formulated, and will hope that they may prove 
feasible and prophetic of a new day of mutual co-opera- 
tion and confidence in America. 

" This government feels bound in candor to say that 
its diplomatic relations with Mexico being for the present 
severed, it is not possible for it to make sure of an unin- 
terrupted opportunity to carry out the plan of inter- 
mediation which you propose. 

'' It is, of course, possible that some act of aggression 
on the part of those who control the military forces of 
Mexico might oblige the United States to act to the upset- 
ting of the hopes of immediate peace, but this does not 
justify us in hesitating to accept your generous 
suggestion. 

** We shall hope for the best results within a brief 
time, enough to relieve our anxiety lest most ill con- 
sidered hostile demonstrations should interrupt negotia- 
tions and disappoint our hopes of peace." 

WHY THE PLAN WAS ACCEPTED 

President Wilson accepted mediation for the following 
reasons : 

1. It offered a hope of peace. 

2. It showed the world that we are sincere in the effort 
to avert war. 

3. It might modify the sentiment of South America, 
now strongly against the United States, even if no prac- 
tical results flowed from it. 

4. As the United States and Mexico are both signa- 
tories of The Hague conventions, it was incumbent on 
this government to observe the terms of those conven- 
tions. 

5. It is imposed upon this government by the treaty of 
1848 between the United States and Mexico, which pre- 
scribes that in case of any difference a resort shall not 
be made to reprisals, aggression, or hostility of any kind 



62 MEDIATION BY DIPLOMATS 

without recourse to arbitration either by a commission 
composed of citizens of both countries or by a friendly 
power. 

AMERICAN TERMS DEFINITE 

Prior to the formal acceptance of the mediation pro- 
posed there was a conference at the White House between 
the President, Secretary of State Bryan, Senators Stone 
and Shively, Democratic members, and Senator Lodge, 
Eepublican member, respectively, of the Senate foreign 
relations committee, and Eepresentatives Flood and 
Cooper of the House foreign affairs committee. 

At this conference it was determined : 

1. That the mediation should not be limited to General 
Huerta, but should be extended to General Carranza, Gen- 
eral Villa, and General Zapata. 

2. That, as a condition of the cessation of warlike 
measures by the United States : 

(a) Huerta should be required to resign. 

(b) An orderly government should be set up. 

(c) Peace and order should be established in Mexico. 

(d) Suitable reparation must be made for all insults 
to the American flag. 

PROPOSAL SENT TO HUERTA 

The Brazilian, Argentine, and Chilean envoys trans- 
mitted the United States V acceptance of their proposal 
to the Spanish ambassador, who immediately sent it by 
cable to the Spanish legation at Mexico City for presenta- 
tion to General Huerta. 

General Carranza, head of the Mexican Constitution- 
alists, was also informed of it through his representatives 
at Washington. 

The three diplomats announced that no further steps 
would be taken by them until replies had been received 
from the leaders of the Mexican factions. 



! MEDIATION BY DIPLOMATS 63 

AEMY PLANS NOT STOPPED 

Coincidently witli the acceptance of the offer of media- 
tion, administration officials announced there would be 
no cessation of preparations by the army and navy for 
future emergencies and no orders would be issued to the 
naval forces at Vera Cruz or the ships at sea changing 
original plans. 

ACCEPTANCE BY HUEKTA 

On Sunday, April 26, it was announced in Washington 
by the Spanish ambassador that he had received unofficial 
advices from Mexico that Huerta would accept the offer 
of good offices from the ambassador of Brazil and the 
ministers of Chile and Argentina, which had already been 
accepted by President Wilson. It was later learned that 
Huerta accepted the *' principle " of the mediation 
proposed. 

On the same day came word that United States Consul 
Hanna had been arrested and locked up by Huerta adher- 
ents at Monterey, Mexico, while 2,700 American refugees 
from Tampico and Vera Cruz reached Galveston, Tex., by 
steamer. They told stories of being insulted and robbed 
by Mexicans, both federals and rebels, threats and tor- 
ture being used in some instances to force the production 
of more money. 

The news that President Wilson had accepted the offer 
of the three republics was received with much gratifica- 
tion all over Latin America. The administration was 
assured that it would have the support of Congress in 
its efforts to prevent war. 

Eeports from Mexico City that the foes of Huerta were 
active in his capital were the chief developments of Mon- 
day, April 27. It was even rumored that the dictator, 
frightened by threats of assassination, had taken refuge 
in one of the foreign embassies and that his government 
was in imminent danger of an uprising. 



64 MEDIATION BY DIPLOMATS 

Hundreds of American refugees sailed from Vera Cruz 
for various ports in the United States. 

On April 29 it was reported that General Carranza, 
chief of the Mexican rebels, had accepted in principle the 
offer of arbitration. But later in the week he balked at 
the plan, refusing to cease his activities against Huerta 
or to entertain any plan of mediation that involved even 
temporary recognition of the Huerta government. Euro- 
pean powers were reported to be bringing great pressure 
to bear on Huerta to force him to retire permanently. 

On Thursday, April 30, word was received at Wash- 
ington that Huerta, in answer to the request of the South 
American arbitrators, was willing to agree to an armis- 
tice pending the result of the negotiations. On May 1 
Carranza positively declined to entertain the idea of an 
armistice or even of a temporary truce. The mediators 
therefore planned to continue their negotiations despite 
the recurrence of hostilities between the Mexican federal 
forces and their Constitutionalist opponents. It was 
announced by Secretary of State Bryan on May 5 that 
the three mediators would meet at Niagara Falls, Can- 
ada, May 18, to confer with representatives of the parties 
to the controversy. 

THE POLICY OP MEDIATION" 

Late in 1913 the co-operation of the three Latin Ameri- 
can republics was urged as the only feasible means of 
establishing stable conditions in Mexico. Representative 
Kahn, of California, was the originator of the sugges- 
tion. On August 10, 1913, he said : ' ' The Mexican situa- 
tion is the concern of every patriotic American citizen. 
The formulation of a definite policy by the administration 
is eagerly awaited by the civilized world. At this junc- 
ture the republics of Brazil, Argentina and Chile should 
be asked to co-operate with us in whatever steps we may 
take to bring about a condition of peace in Mexico. ' ' 

On October 24, 1913, in Rio de Janeiro, Theodore 




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MEDIATION BY DIPLOMATS 65 

Eoosevelt gave the policy world-wide significance in his 
address before the University of Brazil. He said: 

" The United States does not wish the territory of its 
neighbors. It does wish their confidence. If ever, as 
regards any country, intervention does unfortunately 
become necessary, I hope that wherever possible it will 
be a joint intervention by such powers (Brazil, Argen- 
tina and Chile), without thought of the selfish aggrandize- 
ment of any of them, and for the common good of the 
western world. ' ' 

POLICY OF THE UNITED STATES 

President Woodrow Wilson on his inauguration in 
1913 issued a formal statement of the policy which the 
administration proposed to follow with respect to the 
republics of Central and South America. The state- 
ment follows : 

*' One of the chief objects of my administration will 
be to cultivate the friendship and deserve the confidence 
of our sister republics of Central and South America 
and to promote in every proper and honorable way the 
interests which are common to the peoples of the two 
continents. I earnestly desire the most cordial under- 
standing and co-operation between the peoples and 
leaders of America and therefore deem it my duty to 
make this brief statement. 

*' Co-operation is possible only when supported at 
every turn by the orderly process of just government 
based on law, not upon arbitrary or irregular force. We 
hold, as I am sure all thoughtful leaders of republican 
government everywhere hold, that just government rests 
always upon the consent of the governed and that there 
can be no freedom without order based upon law and 
upon the public conscience and approval. 

'* We shall look to make these principles the basis of 
mutual intercourse, respect and helpfulness between our 
sister republics and ourselves. We shall lend our influ- 



66 MEDIATION BY DIPLOMATS 

ence of every kind to the realization of these principles 
in fact and practice, knowing that disorder, personal 
intrigue and defiance of constitutional rights weaken and 
discredit government and injure none so much as the 
people who are unfortunate enough to have their common 
life and common affairs tainted and disturbed. We can 
have no sympathy with those who seek to seize the power 
of government to advance their own personal interests or 
ambition. We are the friends of peace, but we know that 
there can be no lasting or stable peace in such circum- 
stances. As friends, therefore, we shall prefer those who 
act in the interest of peace and honor, who protect private 
rights and respect the restraints of constitutional pro- 
vision. Mutual respect seems to us the indispensable 
foundation of friendship between states, as betw^een 
individuals. 

'' The United States has nothing to seek in Central 
and South America except the lasting interests of the 
peoples of the two continents, the security of govern- 
ments intended for the people and for no special group 
or interest, and the development of personal and trade 
relationships between the two continents which shall 
redound to the profit and advantage of both and interfere 
with the rights and liberties of neither. 

" From these principles may be read so much of the 
future policy of this government as it is necessary now 
to forecast, and in the spirit of these principles, I may, 
I hope, be permitted with as much confidence as earnest- 
ness to extend to the governments of all the republics of 
America the hand of genuine disinterested friendship 
and to pledge my own honor and that of my colleagues to 
every enterprise of peace and amity that a fortunate 
future may disclose. ' ' 

THE MONROE AND DRAGO DOCTRINES 

The *' Monroe Doctrine " was enunciated by President 
Monroe in his message to congress, December 2, 1823. 



I 



MEDIATION BY DIPLOMATS 67 

Eeferring to steps taken to arrange the respective rights 
of Eussia, Great Britain and the United States on the 
northwest coast of this continent, the president went on 
to say: 

*' In the discussions to which this interest has given 
rise, and in the arrangements by which they may termin- 
ate, the occasion has been deemed proper for asserting, 
as a principle in which the rights and interests of the 
United States are involved, that the American con- 
tinents, by the free and independent condition which 
they have assumed and maintain, are henceforth not to 
be considered as subjects for future colonization by any 
European power. We owe it, therefore, to candor and to 
the amicable relations existing between the United States 
and those powers to declare that we should consider any 
attempt on their part to extend their system to any por- 
tion of this hemisphere as dangerous to our peace and 
safety. With the existing colonies or dependencies of 
any European power we have not interfered and shall 
not interfere. But with the governments who have 
declared their independence and maintain it, and whose 
independence we have, on great consideration and on just 
principles, acknowledged, we could not view any inter- 
position for the purpose of oppressing them or con- 
trolling in any other manner their destiny by any 
European power in any other light than as the manifesta- 
tion of an unfriendly disposition toward the United 
States." 

THE DEAGO DOCTEINE 

When in the winter of 1902-03, Germany, Britain and 
Italy blockaded the ports of Venezuela in an attempt to 
make the latter country settle up its debts. Dr. L. F. 
Drago, a noted jurist of Argentina, maintained that 
force cannot be used by one power to collect money owing 
to its citizens by another power. Prominence was given 
to the contention by the fact that it was officially upheld 



68 MEDIATION BY DIPLOMATS 

by Argentina and favored by other South American 
republics. The principle embodied has become generally 
known as the " Drago doctrine." 

STEENGTH OF THE UNITED STATES ARMY AND NAVY 
MAECH 20, 1914 

Regular Army: Officers, 4,933; enlisted men, 92,426. 

Philippine Scouts: Officers, 180; enlisted men, 5,732. 

Militia : Officers, 9,142 ; enlisted men, 112,710. 

Eegular Navy: Officers, 3,293; enlisted men, 49,854. 

Marine Corps: Officers, 345; enlisted men, 9,921. 

Naval Militia: Officers, 615; enlisted men, 7,185. 

In the regular army the infantry consists of thirty regi- 
ments of three battalions each, and each battalion falls 
into four companies. The cavalry has fifteen regiments 
of three squadrons. The field artillery comprises six reg- 
iments, each of six batteries ; of these two regiments are 
light artillery, two mountain artillery, one field artillery, 
and one horse artillery. To each battery are allotted four 
guns firing a 15-pound shell, and eight wagons. 

The militia is a body of voluntary state troops which 
the president can call out for service within the country 
or outside of it. 

MEXICAN ARMY AND NAVY 

At the present time (May, 1914) the Mexican army has 
only a paper strength, as a considerable part of the regu- 
lar army in the north has gone over to the Constitutional 
camp. The official figures on the organization of the 
army are : 

Peace Strength: 107 generals, 6,236 officers, 49,332 
men. 

War Strength : Estimated at from 50,000 to 84,000 
of all ranks. 

The army consists of 30 battalions of infantry, 18 
regiments of cavalry, 1 regiment of horse artillery, 2 
regiments of field artillery, and 1 of mountain guns, etc. 



C..XXU. virontler; 1838-39 l',500 



MEDIATION BY DIPLOMATS 69 

Each artillery regiment consists in time of peace of four 
batteries, in time of war raised to six. 

The national guard is practically without training or 
organization and would be very difficult to mobilize. 

Mauser rifles (1901 model) are used by the regular 
infantry and cavalry, but the reserves use the old Rem- 
ington 1893 model. The artillery is fairly well supplied 
with Schneider-Canet quick-firing guns. Recently, the 
Mexican government has made heavy purchases of guns, 
chiefly rifles, in Japan. Most of the ammunition used is 
made in Mexican arsenals. 

The navy is almost a negligible feature. There were 
until July, 1913, five gunboats, but one of these was 
destroyed by the Constitutionalists in the harbor of 
Guaymas. 

FOECES ENGAGED IN" UNITED STATES WAES 

The military and naval forces employed by the gov- 
ernment since 1775 have been as follows: 

War Date Total 

Revolution 1775-83 309,791 

Northwestern Indian 1790-95 8,983 

France 1798-1800 4,593 

Tripoli 1801-05 3,330 

Indian (Harrison) 1811-13 910 

War of 1812 1812-15 576,622 

Creek Indian 1813-14 13,781 

Seminole 1817-18 6,911 

Winnebago (Wis.) 1827 1,416 

Sac and Fox (111.) 1831 

Black Hawk 1832 6,465 

Cherokee removal 1833-39 9,494 

Seminole (Fla.) 1835-42 41,122 

Sabine Indian 1836-37 4,429 

Creek (Ala.) 1836-37 13,418 

*' Patriot " (frontier) 1838-39 1,500 



70 MEDIATION BY DIPLOMATS 

War Date Total 

Seminole (Fla.) 1842-58 .... 

Mexico 1846-48 112,230 

Cayuse Indian (Ore.) 1848 1,116 

Texas Indian 1849-56 4,243 

Apache (Utah) 1849-55 2,561 

California Indian 1849-55 265 

Utah Indian 1851-53 540 

Oregon Washington Indian 1851-56 5,145 

Comanche 1854 502 

Seminole 1855-58 2,687 

Civil War 1861-66 2,778,304 

Spanish- American 1898-99 312,523 

Philippine 1899-1902 140,038 

Pekin (China) Expedition 1900-01 6,913 



Total 4,371,839 

The total in this table includes re-enlistments. The 
total number of individuals is estimated at 3,304,993, of 
whom 2,213,363 served in the Civil War. 

AMEKICAN LOSSES IN SPANISH AND PHILIPPINE WAKS 
FROM WOUNDS OE DISEASE 

Officers Men 

May 1, 1898, to June 30, 1899 224 6,395 

June 30, 1899, to July 1, 1900 74 1,930 

July 1, 1900, to June 30, 1901 57 1,932 

SHIPS OF THE UNITED STATES NAVY 

The following are the vessels of the United States navy 
available for foreign service, coast defense, etc.: 

First Class Battleships 

Alabama, 11,552 tons; Arkansas, 26,000; Connecticut, 
16,000; Delaware, 20,000; Florida, 21,825; Georgia, 
14,948; Idaho, 13,000; Illinois, 11,552; Indiana, 10,288; 



MEDIATION BY DIPLOMATS 71 

Iowa, 11,346; Kansas, 16,000; Kearsarge, 11,520; Ken- 
tucky, 11,520; Louisiana, 16,000; Maine, 12,500; Massa- 
chusetts, 10,288; Michigan, 16,000; Minnesota, 16,000; 
Mississippi, 13,000; Missouri, 12,500; Nebraska, 14,948; 
New Hampshire, 16,000 ; New Jersey, 14,948 ; North Da- 
kota, 20,000; Ohio, 12,500; Oregon, 10,288; Rhode Island, 
14,948; South Carolina, 16,500; Utah, 21,825; Vermont, 
16,000; Virginia, 14,948; Wisconsin, 11,552; Wyoming, 
26,000. Also, just completed, the New York, 27,500 tons ; 
Oklahoma, 27,500; and Texas, 27,000. Each of these is 
armed with ten 14-inch and twenty-one 5-inch guns. 

Armed Cruisers 

Brooklyn, 9,215 tons; California, 13,680; Colorado, 
13,680; Maryland, 13,680; Montana, 14,500; North Caro- 
lina, 14,500; Pittsburgh, 13,680; Saratoga, 8,150; South 
Dakota, 13,680; Tennessee, 14,500; Washington, 14,500; 
West Virginia, 13,680. 

Protected Cruisers 

Albany, 3,430 tons; Baltimore, 4,413; Boston, 3,000; 
Charleston, 9,700; Chattanooga, 3,200; Chicago, 4,500; 
Cincinnati, 3,183 ; Cleveland, 3,200 ; Columbia, 7,350 ; Den- 
ver, 3,200; Des Moines, 3,200; Galveston, 3,200; Milwau- 
kee, 9,700; Minneapolis, 7,350; New Orleans, 3,430; 
Olympia, 5,865 ; Raleigh, 3,183 ; San Francisco, 4,083 ; St. 
Louis, 9,700; Tacoma, 3,200; Topeka, 2,255. 

Unprotected Scout Cruisers 
Birmingham, 3,750 tons ; Chester, 3,750 ; Salem, 3,750. 

Unprotected Cruisers 

Marblehead, 2,072 tons ; Montgomery, 2,072. 

Torpedo Boat Destroyers 

Bainbridge, Barry, Cassin, Cummings, Henley, Jarvis, 
Maynart, Ammen, Beale, Burrows, Chauncey, Dale, De- 
catur, Drayton, Fanning, Flusser, Hopkins, Hull, Jenkins, 



72 MEDIATION BY DIPLOMATS 

Jouett, Lamson, Lawrence, Macdonough, McCall, Mona- 
glian, Patterson, Paulding, Paul Jones, Perkins, Perry, 
Preble, Preston, Reid, Roe, Smith, Sterett, Stewart, 
Terry, Trippe, Truxtun, Walke, Warrington, Whipple 
Worden. 

The destroyers range in tonnage from 420 to 742 tons. 

COAST DEFENSE VESSELS 

Monitors 

Amphitrite, 3,990 tons ; Cheyenne, 3,225 ; Miantonomoh, 
3,990; Monadnock, 3,990; Monterey, 4,084; Ozark, 3,225; 
Tallahassee, 3,225; Terror, 3,990; Tonopah, 3,225. 

Torpedo Boats 

Bagley, Bailey, Barney, Biddle, Blakely, Craven, Davis, 
Dahlgren, DeLong, DuPont, Farragiit, Foote, Fox, Golds- 
borough, Gwin, Mackenzie, Manley, Morris, Rodgers, 
Shubrick, Somers, Stockton, Stringham, Thornton, Tin- 
gey, Wilkes. 

Other Vessels 

Besides the vessels named there are in the United 
States navy over 30 gunboats of varying tonnage up to 
1,710 tons, wooden cruisers, transports, supply ships, hos- 
pital ships, a number of converted yachts, and nearly 30 
colliers, mostly of very large tonnage. 

In addition to the above, there are under construction 
and authorized 4 battleships, 17 torpedo boat destroyers, 
26 submarines, 3 gunboats, 2 colliers, 3 tenders to torpedo 
vessels, 1 transport and 1 supply ship. 

STEENGTH OF U. S. MILITIA 

The present strength of the organized militia of the 
United States, including officers and men, is approxi- 
mately 120,000, according to the latest returns from 
adjutants general of the different states to the war 
department. These civilian soldiers are divided as 
follows : 



MEDIATION BY DIPLOMATS 



73 



Alabama 2,569 

Arizona 522 

Arkansas 1,359 

California 3,612 

Colorado 1,446 

Connecticut 2,641 

Delaware 482 

District of Columbia 1,646 

Florida 1,220 

Georgia 2,898 

Hawaii 465 

Idaho 840 

Illinois 5,914 

Indiana 2,476 

Iowa 2,981 

Kansas 1,824 

Kentucky 2,013 

Louisiana 1,142 

Maine 1,448 

Maryland 1,972 

Massachusetts 5,793 

Michigan 2,750 

Minnesota 2,942 

Mississippi 1,443 

Missouri 3,576 

Montana 610 



Nebraska 1,172 

New Hampshire 1,252 

Nevada (mustered 

out) 1,906 

New Jersey 4,392 

New Mexico 648 

New York 15,957 

North Carolina 2,568 

North Dakota 629 

Ohio 6,140 

Oklahoma 952 

Oregon 1,467 

Pennsylvania 10,534 

Rhode Island 1,358 

South Carolina 1,909 

South Dakota 679 

Tennessee 1,834 

Texas 2,561 

Utah 354 

Vermont 845 

Virginia 2,699 

Washington 1,238 

West Virginia 1,383 

Wisconsin 2,903 

Wyoming 688 



THE PANAMA CANAL 

A dispatch from Panama April 20 stated that only in 
case of urgent necessity could battleships use the Panama 
Canal in proceeding to the blockade of the Mexican 
Pacific ports. This was made plain by Governor Goe- 
thals. But he declared that if the United States govern- 
ment insisted he could speed up the work on the Cuca- 
racha slide in order to obtain a forty-five foot channel. 
He could, he said, also demolish the Empire Bridge 
across the canal and tear out the railway trestle at 



74 MEDIATION BY DIPLOMATS 

Paraiso, so as to make the canal available for the largest 
vessels of war in a very short time. 

DEFENSES OF VERA CRUZ 

Prior to the occupation of Vera Cruz by the United 
States, the defenses of that city and Tampico were 
described as follows : 

In the event that the United States fleet had been forced 
to bombard the ports of Tampico and Vera Cruz the 
latter city will be the only Mexican port on the Gulf 
which could properly defend itself against such an attack. 
The batteries which lie hidden in the ancient niches of 
the fortress on the island of San Juan de Ulua, which 
guards the outer portions of the harbor of Vera Cruz, 
would be the only means of keeping an enemy from suc- 
cessfully taking the Bay of Vera Cruz, which would give 
the invaders entrance to the city and start an army on its 
way to Mexico City. 

San Juan de Ulua was built originally by the Spaniards 
and stands at the present day a cluster of white stone 
buildings marked by hurricane winds and former battles. 
The low white buildings which spread out about a quarter 
of a mile north and south about a mile from the mainland 
are individually pointed out by the natives, who tell ter- 
rible stories of the dungeons and of the fierce penalties 
inflicted on the military prisoners and felons sent there. 

Porfirio Diaz, Madero and Huerta always found it 
advisable to keep San Juan garrisoned with good guns 
and loyal troops. During all the rebellions either the 
Bravos, the Morelos or the Zaragoza, the only three ships 
of any importance which the Mexican navy can boast of, 
kept a permanent station close by the island. The north- 
ern end of the island is taken up by a signal station which 
commands a view of all incoming steamers many miles 
out. Here, also, the government has located a local 
observatory. 

The maximum of the batteries which mount San Juan 



MEDIATION BY DIPLOMATS 75 

do not exceed three ten-incti guns which command the 
outer harbor entrance, and several smaller cannon, with 
perhaps half a dozen rapid fire land pieces, and usually 
from 500 to 800 men. 

The second fortification lies about half a mile from the 
Custom-house wharf off toward the southwestern part 
of the city of Vera Cruz and is known as Baluarte de 
Santiago. This fortress, which also remains from the 
days of Spain in Mexico, is always kept in the trim con- 
dition that the island fortress knows. In case of an attack 
it could, along with the outer defenses, give a pretty fair 
fight before the city would finally surrender. Baluarte 
de Santiago was built originally for the purpose of with- 
standing a land attack upon Vera Cruz, but in the last 
three years the Mexican government has deemed it more 
advisable to strengthen its defenses. 

THE CHANNEL AT TAMPICO 

Tampico would quickly fall into the hands of a strong 
naval force. Persons familiar with the port point out 
only one highly improbable incident which might turn 
the tables for the Mexicans if the fleet steamed up on 
the city with the intention of a bombardment. In order 
to get into the roadstead off Tampico all steamers inward 
bound have to pass through a channel typically Mexican 
which leads into the Panuco River. This channel, which 
is guarded on either side by a small lighthouse, is scarcely 
a quarter of a mile in width, and during the season of the 
norther, which lasts until the early part of May, steamers 
are compelled to ride out the storm at sea rather than 
to chance or risk attempting to run the channel, which 
on such occasions cannot be depended upon for depth 
with large steamers. 

Often the storm lasts several days, with a wind blowing 
100 miles per hour, kicking up an immense sea. The 
only possible way, some critics point out, to destroy the 



76 MEDIATION BY DIPLOMATS 

American ships would be to destroy the lights and depend 
on a norther. 

It is recounted among shipping men at Tampico that 
the only steamer which ever came through the channel 
safely in a storm was manned by an American crew and 
skipper. This was about two years ago, when Captain 
Michael O'Keefe of the Ward liner Seguranca took the 
vessel through in a raging storm and the Mexicans talked 
about his feat for months after. A German vessel which 
followed went aground on the beach. 

PRESIDENT MC KINLEY ON MEDIATION 

President McKinley's reply to the ambassadors of 
Europe, who, on April 6, 1898, tendered their good offices 
to bring about peace between Spain and the United States 
was as follows : 

*' The government of the United States recognizes the 
good will which has prompted the friendly communica- 
tion of the representatives of Germany, Austria- 
Hungary, France, Great Britain, Italy and Russia, as set 
forth in the address of your excellencies, and shares the 
hope therein expressed that the outcome of the situation 
in Cuba may be the maintenance of peace between the 
United States and Spain by affording the necessary guar- 
antees for the re-establishment of order in the island, so 
terminating the chronic condition of disturbance there, 
which so deeply injures the interests and menaces the 
tranquillity of the American nation by the character and 
consequence of the struggle thus kept up at our doors, 
besides shocking its sentiment of humanity. 

** The government of the United States appreciates the 
humanitarian character of the communication now made 
in behalf of the powers named and for its part is con- 
fident that equal appreciation will be shown for its own 
earnest and unselfish endeavors to fulfill a duty to human- 
ity by ending a situation the indefinite prolongation of 
which has become insufferable. ' ' 



i 



CHAPTEE IV 
THE REVOLUTION OF 1910-14 

Eecent events in Mexico since the outbreak of what 
is generally known as the Revolution of 1910 have been 
of an intensely dramatic character and followed one 
another in rapid succession. 

When General Porfirio Diaz was elected president of 
Mexico in June, 1910, his opponents began to plan his 
overthrow, and in November of that year they organized 
a revolution and began fighting both in the south and 
the north. 

Francisco I. Madero was active among the rebels and 
on November 23 proclaimed himself *' provisional presi- 
dent of Mexico." Fighting continued until May 25, 
1911, when President Diaz resigned and went to Europe. 
Francisco de la Barra was made provisional president 
and served until October, when Madero was elected to 
the office of president. 

Madero represented the opposition to the autocracy of 
Porfirio Diaz. But he himself had enemies who charged 
him with using the same methods as his predecessor. 
Among them were General Pascuel Orozco, Emilio Vas- 
quez Gomez, General Geronimo Trevino and General 
Felix Diaz, a nephew of the deposed president. These 
men kept the country in a generally disturbed condition, 
though Madero appeared to have control of the situation. 

On October 16, 1912, General Felix Diaz with 500 men 
took possession of Vera Cruz, but within a week he 
and his men were captured, without a struggle, by the 
Federal troops. Two of his officers were tried by court- 

n 



78 THE EEVOLUTION OF 1910-14 

martial and shot, and he was condemned to meet the 
same fate. Sentence was suspended, but he remained 
in prison until released by a military uprising in the City 
of Mexico, February 9, 1913. 

The name of Diaz, by the way, has retained a good 
deal of potency in Mexico and throughout the revolu- 
tionary days of the last few years there have been recur- 
rent rumors of a possibility of the recall of Porfirio 
Diaz from his refuge in Paris to bring peace to his dis- 
tracted country. But the age of the former president 
and his probable antipathy to re-engage in internecine 
strife have brought all such proposals to naught. His 
nephew, Felix, has figured at intervals throughout the 
revolution down to the present time. 

The mutiny in the City of Mexico was led by students 
from the military school at Tlalpam, a suburb. They 
took possession of a powder magazine early in the morn- 
ing of February 9, and then went to the prisons. where 
General Felix Diaz and General Bernardo Eeyes were 
confined and released them. Accompanied by these 
leaders, and followed by crowds shouting '' Death to 
Madero! " the mutineers proceeded to the Plaza de la 
Constitution in front of the National Palace. Here they 
were joined by portions of several cavalry and infantry 
regiments. 

In front of the palace about 500 troops loyal to Madero 
were drawn up and firing began as soon as the mutineers 
appeared. 

DEATH or GENEKAL REYES 

One of the first to fall was General Reyes, who was 
killed by a rifle ball through the head. Soldiers sta- 
tioned on the roof of the palace and in its windows kept 
up a fusillade, while machine guns were also brought 
into play against the mutinous troops. The palace being 
thus strongly defended, General Diaz, who had taken 
command of the mutineers, withdrew and with his men 



THE REVOLUTION OF 1910-14 79 

marclied to the Arsenal, distant about a mile west from 
the National Palace. 

The Arsenal was attacked and soon surrendered to 
the rebels and they took possession of the Madero gov- 
ernment's reserve artillery, many rifles and large quan- 
tities of ammunition. The Arsenal was then used as the 
headquarters of General Diaz. Belem prison, near the 
Arsenal, was also seized and the prisoners turned loose. 
The artillery from Tacubaya came in at this time and 
joined the rebels. 

General Villar, military commander of the capital, 
remained loyal to Madero. He was wounded at the 
National Palace, and was replaced by General Victoriano 
Huerta, who had charge of President Madero 's forces 
until February 18. On that date Huerta arrested Madero 
and was himself proclaimed provisional president of the 
Republic. 

The first day's fighting in the city resulted in the 
death of over 500 persons, including 170 women and 200 
private citizens who were killed in their houses or in the 
streets. 

THE TEN days' EIGHT 

On February 10, the day following the outbreak, the 
city was comparatively quiet. But the next day fight- 
ing was resumed and did not cease except at short inter- 
vals until February 19. In that time, so far as known, 
nearly 3,000 persons were killed and about 7,000 wounded. 
Several Americans, including two women, lost their 
lives. The period is generally known as ' ' the ten days ' 
fight." 

Most of the victims were non-combatants — men, 
women and children — who were unable to escape from 
the zone of danger. Nearly all parts of the city were 
in the line of fire, as the projectiles from modern, high- 
powered guns reached everywhere. 

The situation was unique. The opposing forces occu- 



80 THE REVOLUTION OF 1910-14 

pied two large buildings about a mile apart, and fired 
at each other across the center of the city. The finest 
business district and also a part of the best residence 
district were in the line of fire and few buildings escaped 
serious damage. Business houses, schools, churches, 
convents, public structures and private homes were 
pierced by shells and bullets. The American embassy 
building w^as frequently struck and its occupants, includ- 
ing the American ambassador, had narrow escapes from 
death. The American consulate suffered even more 
than the embassy and finally had to be abandoned. 

All large buildings became conspicuous targets. Some 
of them, like the unfinished National Theater at the east 
end of the Alameda, the Young Men's Christian Asso- 
ciation building near the Arsenal, and the Mutual Life 
Insurance building, were frequently struck by shot and 
shell. Many of the victims met their death in the Ala- 
meda, the beautiful park at the east end of the Paseo 
de la Eeforma, which is one of the famous streets of the 
w^orld. The American Club was riddled with bullets 
and shells and all but demolished. The cable office was 
also struck frequently, but the operators remained at 
their places throughout the whole of the fighting and 
continued to send the news and commercial despatches 
though their lives were in danger. 

FIGHTING IN THE STEEETS 

Most of the shooting was done from the shelter of the 
Arsenal, the National Palace and other buildings, but 
skirmishes in the streets were frequent. The rebels com- 
manded all the approaches to the Arsenal and also had 
outposts in the western part of the city to prevent attacks 
from the rear. The Federals planted batteries in the 
Zocalo, the Alameda, the Paseo de la Reforma, and at 
other points to the east and north. Detachments of 



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American lociuits in practice drill at Furt Bliss. Tex. 




City of Mexico students and business men drafted by Huerta in his dire 
emergency, caused by fear of American invasion 



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THE REVOLUTION OF 1910-14 81 

rurales were sent by Madero against the rebels, but could 
make no headway against their machine guns. 

General Diaz' riflemen and artillerists proved to be 
expert marksmen. They were well supplied with range- 
finders and had an ample supply of ammunition. No 
general attack was made by either side, because neither 
of the opposing forces felt able to rush the other with- 
out incurring great loss of life and the risk of utter 
disaster. 

CITIZENS EEMAINED QUIET 

During the bombardment there was no rioting and no 
crowds appeared in the streets. Order was maintained 
as usual and few robberies were committed. The gen- 
eral sympathy of the people, however, was with the 
mutineers and against Madero. 

On February 14 and 15, efforts were made to secure 
the resignation of President Madero, but he refused to 
listen to any suggestions to that effect, saying that he 
was willing to arbitrate or do anything that a man might 
do honestly and properly to bring peace to his country, 
but he would not act the part of a coward, and resign 
in the face of personal danger. 

Many conferences were held in the American Embassy 
between members of the diplomatic corps and also 
between United States Ambassador Henry Lane Wilson 
and representatives of the Madero government, as well 
as of the rebels. 

Ambassador Wilson was a dominating influence in the 
legation quarter and did much to assure the safety not 
only of the Americans but of all foreigners resident in 
the city. After the overthrow of Madero he was per- 
sonally visited by Generals Huerta and Diaz and con- 
sulted upon important matters. He kept also in con- 
stant touch with Washington, where the authorities main- 
tained a close watch over the situation. 



82 THE REVOLUTION OF 1910-14 

INTERVENTION PROPOSED 

The intervention of the United States was urged in 
many quarters, but President Taft and his advisers 
adhered to the policy they had followed from the out- 
break of the revolution in Mexico in 1910. Their posi- 
tion was explained by President Taft in a message sent 
in reply to a communication from President Madero 
protesting against possible intervention. The message, 
dated February 16, asserted that the military and naval 
measures taken by the United States were merely pre- 
cautionary, and concluded as follows: 

* ' I feel it my duty to add sincerely and without reserve 
that the course of events during the last two years, cul- 
minating in the present most dangerous situation, cre- 
ates in this country extreme pessimism and the convic- 
tion that the present paramount duty is the prompt relief 
of the situation." 

While they refused to intervene in Mexico, President 
Taft and his cabinet made preparations to take that step 
should it become necessary. The battleships Georgia, 
Vermont and Nebraska were sent to Vera Cruz, the battle- 
ship Virginia to Tampico, the cruiser Colorado to Mazat- 
lan, and the cruiser South Dakota to Acapulco. These 
ships were authorized to receive and protect Americans 
whose lives were endangered and also to land armed 
forces if necessary. Three thousand marines were 
ordered to Guantanamo, Cuba, to be held in readiness for 
immediate service, and the developments of the singular 
situation were eagerly awaited by the American people. 

FALL OF MADERO 

On February 18, General Victoriano Huerta and Gen- 
eral Aureliano Blanquet, who up to that time had appar- 
ently given President Madero loyal support, suddenly 
turned against him. In the morning they fought the 
rebels with apparent vigor ; in the afternoon they arrested 



THE REVOLUTION OF 1910-14 83 

Madero, forced him to resign the presidency and deprived 
him of his liberty. The president became a prisoner. 

General Huerta then assumed the powers of the presi- 
dency. The origin and development of the plot against 
President Madero were not made known. It was said 
that a group of senators had urged General Huerta to 
put an end to the fighting in the heart of the city and to 
remove the Madero family from control of public affairs. 
Another report was that General Blanquet, whose son 
was an adherent of General Diaz, was in reality opposed 
to Madero from the first and had only awaited a favor- 
able opportunity to compass his downfall. \ 

The actual arrest of Madero was accomplished under 
the direction of General Blanquet. He ordered into the 
city 1,000 men from his own command and stationed 
them near the National Palace, replacing the reserve 
troops who had been loyally fighting for Madero. The 
movement of these bodies of troops attracted much atten- 
tion and a considerable crowd gathered about the palace 
in the afternoon. Generals Blanquet and Huerta soon 
appeared and announced in brief speeches that the time 
had come when peace must be restored in the city and 
that they intended to secure it. General Blanquet then 
detailed twenty men under Colonel Riveroll to arrest 
President Madero. 

THE PRESIDENT AEKESTED 

The first intimation the president had of the new turn 
of affairs was when he entered the great *' Hall of 
Ambassadors,'^ which was guarded by soldiers standing 
with rifles at the '' ready." Madero was enraged and 
engaged in a scuffle with one of the guards. The sol- 
dier's rifle was discharged and a number of Madero 's 
own men came hurrying to protect him. A brief encoun- 
ter followed, resulting in the death of two of the guards 
and the wounding of several others. At the same time 
Colonel Riveroll was fatally wounded, dying a short 



84 THE REVOLUTION OF 1910-14 

tinie afterward. It was officially charged that Madero 
himself fired the shot that killed Riveroll. When the 
president had been placed under arrest, his resignation 
was demanded and he complied with the command, writ- 
ing a resignation in formal terms. 

In the meantime other arrests were being made, includ- 
ing those of Vice-President Jose Pino Suarez, Governor 
Federico Gonzales Garza of the Federal District, and 
Gustave Madero, brother of the president. The latter 
was arrested in a restaurant, while in the company of 
General Huerta. Members of the Madero cabinet and 
other government officials were also placed under arrest, 
but these officials were soon released on parole. 

CONGRESS SUMMONED TO ACT 

Immediately after the arrests, at the instance of Gen- 
eral Huerta, the executive officers of the Senate and 
Chamber of Deputies summoned a special session of Con- 
gress to legalize the change of government and name a 
provisional president. It is said General Diaz knew 
nothing of these proceedings until they were completed. 

The first official act of General Huerta as de facto 
ruler was to send word to Ambassador Wilson, asking 
him to notify the other members of the diplomatic corps 
and to advise President Taft that the fighting was ended 
and that the foreigners in the city were safe. 

Huerta also asked permission to use the American 
embassy as a channel for communication with the insur- 
gents. Ambassador Wilson agreed to act as an inter- 
mediary, and an exchange of notes was begun which 
terminated in a complete agreement. The messenger of 
the United States Embassy received an ovation in the 
streets. As his automobile, bearing a white flag on one 
side and the American colors on the other, made its way 
through San Francisco street, the crowd, which had 
learned the nature of his errand, shouted, '' Viva Los 
Americanos! " 



THE REVOLUTION OF 1910-14 85 

In the evening a large crowd assembled in the Zocalo 
and cheered for Diaz, Huerta and Blanquet. Banners 
bearing the words '' Peace " and ^' Liberty " were dis- 
played. At the same time there was some rioting. The 
office of the " Nuova Era," a Madero organ, was set on 
fire and burned by a mob, and Marco Hernandez, a 
brother of the minister of the interior, was shot and killed 
for shouting, ' ' Viva Madero ! ' ' 

DEATH OF GUSTAVE MADEEO 

Early on the next day, February 19, General Felix Diaz 
went to the American Embassy and formally ratified an 
agreement with General Huerta, bringing the crisis to an 
end. The execution of Gustave Madero, who, after his 
arrest, had been confined in the Arsenal, also occurred 
on this day. He was subjected to the so-called '' fugitive 
law," by which he was free to run under the rifle fire of 
his guards. He fell dead before he had proceeded many 
paces. Gustave Madero had been ' ' the power behind the 
throne " and was generally disliked. It was said that 
his personality and actions were largely responsible for 
the downfall of the administration. 

HUEETA NAMED AS PEESIDENT 

At a special session of Congress in the evening. Gen- 
eral Huerta was named as provisional president of Mex- 
ico. The first act of the Congress was to accept the resig- 
nation of President Madero; then Pedro Lascurian, as 
minister of foreign affairs, took the oath as president ad 
interim, and General Huerta, to make the succession legal, 
was appointed a cabinet minister. After these formali- 
ties had been complied with, he was duly elected, so that 
Mexico had three presidents within the space of about an 
hour. 

MADEEO MEETS HIS FATE 

The new government proposed to send Madero into 
exile, but other counsels prevailed and he was kept as a 



«6 THE REVOLUTION OF 1910-14 

prisoner of war in the National Palace until the night of 
February 22-23, when he and the former vice-president, 
Jose Pino Suarez, were ordered to be conveyed to the 
penitentiary at the eastern end of the city. They were 
placed in an automobile, which was followed by another 
car and escorted by 100 rurales under Commandant Fran- 
cisco Cardenas and Colonel Rafael Pimiento. 

An official account of what followed was given to the 
press by President Huerta. According to this account, 
the automobiles had traversed about two-thirds of the 
way to the penitentiary when they were attacked by an 
armed group and the escort descended from the machines 
to offer resistance. '' Suddenly the group grew larger 
and the prisoners tried to escape, ' ' said the official story. 
An exchange of shots then took place, in which two of the 
attacking party were killed and two were wounded. 

Both prisoners were killed and the automobile in 
which they were riding was badly damaged. Madero, it 
was found, had been shot through the head, the bullet 
entering at the back and passing out of the forehead. 
The body of Suarez showed many wounds, the bullets 
having entered from the front. 

Despite the official versions of the affair, considerable 
mystery surrounded it and it was generally supposed to 
be a case of another application of the " ley fuga " (fugi- 
tive law), to which Gustave Madero had already fallen 
a victim. 

Immediately after the deaths of Madero and Suarez, 
the members of the escort were placed under arrest and 
the government promised to have the whole matter made 
the subject of a rigid judicial inquiry. The investigation 
resulted in a decision that no one could be held legally 
responsible. 

The members of the diplomatic corps thereupon decided 
not to recognize the provisional government. In a state- 
ment issued February 24, Ambassador Wilson said that 



THE REVOLUTION OF 1910-14 87 

in the absence of other reliable information he was dis- 
posed to accept the government version of the manner 
in which the ex-president and ex-vice-president lost their 
lives. " Certainly the violent deaths of these persons 
were without government approval," he said, '' and if 
the deaths were the result of a plot, it was of restricted 
character and unknown to the higher officers of the 
government. ' ' 

On the day before the killing of Madero and Suarez, 
the authorities at Washington ordered the 5th Brigade 
of the Second Army Division to proceed to Galveston, 
Tex., for possible service in Mexico. When the news of 
the tragedy in the Mexican capital became known, addi- 
tional troops were ordered south from various army 
posts and within a few days some 10,000 men, under the 
command of Major General William H. Carter, had 
assembled at Galveston and other points near the Mexi- 
can border. President Taft disclaimed any intention of 
intervening in Mexico, but deemed it prudent to prepare 
for emergencies. 

THE CAKRANZA REVOLT 

The election of General Huerta as provisional presi- 
dent failed to pacify the followers of Madero, many of 
whom assumed that he had been deliberately murdered. 
Furthermore, they saw in the election of Huerta a revival 
of the Diaz regime which they had overthrown in 1912. A 
leader arose in the person of Venustiano Carranza, gov- 
ernor of the state of Coahuila, and a friend of the dead 
president, who organized the Mexican Constitutionalist 
party and began an active military campaign in the 
northern half of the Eepublic. 

On March 26, some of the leading members of the new 
organization met at Guadalupe, Coahuila, and adopted a 
declaration, of which the following is a summary: 

*' 1. We repudiate General Victoriano Huerta as 
president of the Republic. 



88 THE REVOLUTION OF 1910-14 

'* 2. We repudiate also the legislative and judicial 
powers of the Federation. 

** 3. We repudiate the governments of the states 
which thirty days hence shall recognize the Federal 
authorities which form the present administration. 

** 4. For the organization of the military forces neces- 
sary to enforce compliance with our purposes, we name 
as first chief of the party, which shall be called the Con- 
stitutionalist party, Don Venustiano Carranza, governor 
of Coahuila." 

THE CONSTITUTIONALIST PEOGEAM 

The principal reforms sought by the Constitutionalists 
were described as follows : 

* * The weeding out of the administration personnel and 
the reconstruction of the judiciary; honesty in the man- 
agement of the treasury ; equitable distribution of taxes ; 
legislation of better labor conditions, so as to develop 
better relations between capital and the working classes, 
especially in respect to the peasantry and the great land- 
holders ; establishment of agricultural banks ; legislation 
providing for extensive irrigation throughout the land; 
passing of necessary laws to make titles to real estate 
respected and easy of transfer; revision of civil laws; 
fair distribution of communal land; the breaking up of 
large estates by means of proper expropriation ; the bet- 
terment of the farming population; the construction of 
roads and turnpikes, and the imparting of public instruc- 
tion on a large scale." 

CIVIL WAE PEEVAILS 

The Constitutionalist movement, however, did not 
attract all of the Madero men. General Pascual Orozco, 
Sr., one of the noted leaders in the north, joined the 
Huerta forces, as did some of the Zapatistas in the south. 
Zapata himself refused to come to terms and preferred to 
continue his guerilla warfare. The Federals and Con- 



THE EEVOLUTION OF 1910-14 89 

stitutionalists were about equal in numbers. FigMing 
continued tbrougbout the year, but neither side could 
claim any decided advantage. In the central part of the 
Eepublic and the City of Mexico the Huerta forces were 
in control, but in the north they maintained possession 
of only a few places, including Laredo, Monterey, Saltillo, 
Juarez, Jiminez and Parral. 

Soon the contest took on all the aspects of civil war, 
with the addition of bandit operations. Life and prop- 
erty were threatened everywhere. Railroad communica- 
tion was paralyzed throughout the country, except be- 
tween the City of Mexico and Vera Cruz, and industry of 
all kinds was interrupted. Cases of robbery and vio- 
lence, in which Americans and other foreigners were fre- 
quently the victims, occurred in nearly all parts of the 
country, and thousands were compelled to flee to the 
United States for protection. 

PEESIDENT WILSON AND HUEETA 

President Huerta was short of funds and in May it was 
reported that he was seeking a foreign loan of $75,000,000 
to carry on the government and that English and French 
bankers had promised to furnish the money, provided he 
could secure recognition from the United States govern- 
ment. But President Wilson, who had succeeded Presi- 
dent Taft March 4, 1913, held that Huerta had no consti- 
tutional or moral right to the presidency and refused to 
recognize him or his administration until after a presi- 
dential election, which had been announced for the latter 
part of October. 

On learning the attitude of the United States, General 
Huerta informed Ambassador Wilson that the American 
claims for damages which had been filed would not be 
taken up until after recognition had been accorded. 
Relations between the two countries soon became strained 
and grew more and more unsatisfactory as time elapsed. 
Many clashes between Mexican and American troops 



90 THE EEVOLUTION OF 1910-14 

occurred on the border and the situation was not im- 
proved by the fact that some European nations were 
disposed to criticize the attitude of the Washington 
authorities toward Huerta. 

In July, Ambassador Wilson was called to Washington 
for a conference. He arrived in Washington July 26, 
and it soon became apparent that the views of President 
Wilson and the ambassador were not in accord. The 
latter, it was said, advised a partial recognition of 
Huerta, but his suggestion was not favorably received. 
As a natural consequence of this divergence of opinion, 
Ambassador Wilson presented his resignation August 4, 
to take effect October 14. 

*' The part which Mr. Wilson felt it his duty to take 
in the earlier stages of the recent revolution in Mexico," 
said Secretary of State Bryan, '' would make it difficult 
for him to represent now the views of the present 
administration. ' ' 

The Mexican Embassy was thus left in charge of the 
secretary. Nelson 'Shaughnessy, as charge d'affaires. 

JOHN LIND's mission 

On the same day that Ambassador Wilson's resigna- 
tion was accepted, the president directed Honorable John 
Lind, former governor of Minnesota and a leading and 
highly respected lawyer, to proceed to Mexico City as 
his personal representative, for the purpose of acting as 
adviser to the American Embassy. Mr. Lind arrived at 
the Mexican capital August 10. President Huerta had 
already announced that he would permit no foreign inter- 
ference in Mexican affairs, but Mr. Lind or any other for- 
eigner might pass through the country without fear of 
molestation. The following statement was issued August 
6 by Manuel Garza Adalpe, acting minister of foreign 
affairs : 

'* By order of the president of the Republic, I declare. 



THE REVOLUTION OF 1910-14 91 

as minister of foreign affairs ad interim, that if Mr. 
Lind does not bring credentials in due form, together 
with recognition of the government of Mexico, his pres- 
ence in this country will not be desirable. ' ' 

Washington officials declared that this statement was 
based on misinformation as to Mr. Lind's mission in 
Mexico and Mr. Lind was allowed to proceed. After his 
arrival in the capital he was informally received by the 
Mexican minister of foreign affairs, Senor Gamboa, and 
a series of conferences was held, but no agreement could 
be reached on the proposals of the Washington govern- 
ment, which included (1) the immediate cessation of fight- 
ing in Mexico; (2) the calling of an early and free elec- 
tion for president, all parties agreeing to take part in it ; 
(3) the consent of General Huerta to bind himself not to 
be a candidate for election as president of the Republic 
at this election; (4) agreement of all parties to abide 
loyally by the result of the election. 

Senor Gamboa maintained that the United States 
could best secure neutrality by refusing to aid the rebels, 
and that the suggestion that General Huerta pledge him- 
self not to be a candidate was strange and unwarranted. 
He declared that the United States government should 
recognize the Huerta administration because it was con- 
stitutional. 

In reply to this Mr. Lind proposed that only two of the 
conditions be complied with, namely, the holding of a 
constitutional election and the giving of an assurance by 
General Huerta that he would not be a candidate for 
president at that election. Mr. Lind also said : 

'' The president of the United States further author- 
izes me to say that if the de facto government of Mexico 
at once acts favorably upon the foregoing suggestions, 
then in that event the president will express to American 
bankers and their associates assurances that the govern- 
ment of the United States will look with favor upon the 



92 THE REVOLUTION OF 1910-14 

extension of an immediate loan sufficient in amount to 
meet the temporary requirements of the de facto govern- 
ment of Mexico." 

FAILURE OP NEGOTIATIONS 

But Secretary Gamboa then declared that it was not 
necessary for General Huerta to pledge himself not to be 
a candidate, because under the constitution an ad interim 
president could not be a candidate at the ensuing election. 
The offer of a possible loan was repudiated as in effect 
a bribe. 

Negotiations having thus reached a deadlock, and 
neither party being willing to give way, Mr. Lind deemed 
that a further stay in the City of Mexico would be inad- 
visable. He left on August 26 for Vera Cruz, expecting 
to proceed forthwith to the United States. Developments 
both in Washington and the City of Mexico, however, 
caused him to postpone his departure. President Wilson 
held a conference August 25 with the members of the for- 
eign relations committees of the two houses of Congress 
and announced the policy which he had adopted. This 
he proposed to make public in a message to Congress on 
the following day. 

On August 26, a despatch was received from President 
Huerta requesting that the message be delayed for 
another twenty-four hours and this was agreed to. 

Nothing further was heard from Huerta and on August 
27 the Senate and House met in joint session and Presi- 
dent Wilson read his message in person. After referring 
to the deplorable condition of affairs in Mexico, he said 
that the peace, prosperity, and contentment of Mexico 
meant more than merely an enlarged field for commerce 
and enterprise. *' We shall yet prove to the Mexican 
people," he said, ** that we know how to serve them 
without first thinking how we shall serve ourselves." 

President Wilson pointed out that things had grown 
worse instead of better and that those who claimed to 



THE EEVOLUTION OF 1910-14 93 

constitute the legitimate government of the Republic had 
failed to make good their claim in fact. War and dis- 
order, devastation and confusion, seemed to threaten to 
become the settled fortune of the country. Referring to 
Mr. Lind's mission to Mexico, the president detailed the 
instructions given to his envoy. These were that he 
" should impress upon those exercising authority in the 
City of Mexico the fact that the government of the United 
States did not feel at liberty any longer to stand 
inactively by, while it became daily more evident that no 
real progress was being made toward the establishment 
of a government which the country would obey and 
respect; that the situation in Mexico was incompatible 
with the fulfillment of the international obligations on 
the part of that country, and that all America cried out 
for a settlement. ' ' Mr. Lind had been further instructed 
that such a settlement seemed to be conditioned on the 
following points : 

*' An immediate cessation of fighting throughout Mex- 
ico — a definite armistice solemnly entered into and scru- 
pulously observed. 

* ' Security given for an early and free election in which 
all would agree to take part. 

*' The consent of General Huerta to bind himself not 
to be a candidate for election as president of the Republic 
at this election. 

*' The agreement of all parties to abide by the results 
of the election and to co-operate in the most loyal way in 
organizing and supporting the new administration.*' 

President Wilson declared that Mr. Lind had executed 
his delicate mission with singular tact, firmness and good 
judgment, but the proposals he submitted had been 
rejected in a note from the Mexican minister of foreign 
affairs. Meanwhile it was the duty of the United States 
to remain patient, to exercise self-restraint, and to wait 
for a further opportunity to offer friendly counsels. 

*' We should earnestly urge all Americans to leave 



94 THE REVOLUTION OF 1910-14 

Mexico at once," the president continued, " and should 
assist them to get away in every way possible — not 
because we would mean to slacken in the least our efforts 
to safeguard their lives and their interests, but because 
it is imperative that they should take no unnecessary 
risks when it is physically possible for them to leave the 
country. ' ' 

In conclusion the president said: '' The steady pres- 
sure of moral force will, before many days, break the bar- 
riers of pride and prejudice down, and we shall triumph 
as Mexico 's friends sooner than we could triumph as her 
enemies — and how much more handsomely, with how 
much higher and finer satisfaction of conscience and of 
honor. ' ' 

In accordance with the announcement made in Presi- 
dent Wilson's message, the Americans in Mexico were 
warned to leave that country and were advised that to 
enable them to do so money and warships would be placed 
at their disposal. Steps were also taken to prohibit the 
shipment of arms to Mexico. 

HUEETA AGEEES TO AN ELECTION 

When the Mexican Congress met on September 16, 
General Huerta promised to spare no efforts to bring 
about the unrestricted election of a president and vice- 
president of the Republic in October. He deprecated the 
attitude of the American government, but declared that 
there was no unfriendliness between the American and 
the Mexican people. He also announced that French 
bankers had taken $30,000,000 of the $100,000,000 loan 
authorized at the preceding session of Congress. The 
sum of $24,900,000, he said, had been used in ** pacify- 
ing " the country. 

As the date set for the election approached, the Catho- 
lic party in Mexico nominated Federico Gamboa for pres- 
ident and General Eugenio Rascon for vice-president of 
the Republic. Manuel Calero and Flores Magnon were 



THE EEVOLUTION OF 1910-14 95 

nominated by the Liberals. Other candidates for the 
presidency were also announced, among them being Gen- 
eral Felix Diaz. 

HUERTA AS DICTATOR 

On October 10, by order of President Hnerta, 110 mem- 
bers of the Chamber of Deputies were arrested for sign- 
ing resolutions of warning to him because of the sudden 
'' disappearance " of Senator Belisario Dominguez, of 
Chiapas, who had criticized the president. Both branches 
of the Congress were declared suspended and new elec- 
tions of senators and deputies were ordered for October 
14. President Huerta also suspended all constitutional 
guaranties and declared himself dictator of the Eepublic. 

AN" UNSATISFACTORY ELECTION 

The presidential and congressional elections took place 
October 26. The vote cast was extremely small and the 
result was unsatisfactory. Huerta, who was ineligible 
and not a candidate, was declared to have received a 
majority for president. General Blanquet led for vice- 
president. Huerta had already been notified by Presi- 
dent Wilson that under the conditions created by the 
arrest of the deputies and the suspension of constitutional 
guaranties, a fair election could not be held, and that the 
United States government would refuse to recognize the 
men chosen. 

On November 2, acting under instructions from the 
State Department at Washington, Nelson 'Shaughnessy, 
charge d'affaires, notified General Huerta that he must 
resign the presidency of Mexico and that he must not 
leave as his successor General Aureliano Blanquet, his 
minister of war, or any other member of his official fam- 
ily. A week later. General Huerta announced that the 
newly-elected Congress would be installed in a few days 
and would pass upon the elections of president and vice- 
president. If this Congress declared the election of Octo- 



96 THE REVOLUTION OF 1910-14 

ber 26 void, new elections would be called. In the mean- 
time lie said he would continue in office and direct his 
effort towards the pacification of the country. 

President Wilson, through his personal representative, 
John Lind, notified General Huerta early on November 12 
that unless he returned an answer that day to a demand 
that he must prevent the newly-elected Congress from 
being called into session and must make this action known 
to the diplomatic corps, the United States would have no 
further parleying with the Mexican government. 

Huerta made no reply, and Mr. Lind, who had been in 
the capital for some days, returned to Vera Cruz, saying 
that he would not set foot in the City of Mexico again 
until the new Congress had been dissolved. This was not 
done, but on the contrary, the Congress met and ratified 
the results of the election of October 26. Mr. Lind 
remained at Vera Cruz throughout the winter, watching 
events at the capital and in constant communication with 
President Wilson. His return to the United States was 
soon followed by the Tampico incident and the ultimatum 
to Huerta, the rejection of which led to the occupation of 
Vera Cruz, April 21, 1914. 




Typical scene in the City of Mexico during tlie ten days' figliting in tlie 
streets, preceding Madero's deatli 




Iron telegraph, pole smashed by shot from the arsenal 




Youth and Old Age. 
This aged peon woman is said to be over 112 years old 




General Blanquet, the man who arrested President Madero 



fcurr-t • 






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^^^^l^p»»in«L 




•-'^^ 




i^^P 


^ i m^^- 


'""^m 




BP-^^il^ 


t^kJk "^^ 


1^^^ 




Tf^ 


PM 


^m 




-- 


Sssssaaaa^^*"™^ ^sgMlh 


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statue destroyed by gunfire near the National Palace 




Windows on third floor shattered by shell from Arsenal 




street crowd near National Palace viewina- a ruined statue 




In the line of fire during the ten days' fight 



CHAPTER V 
THE MEXICAN WAR OF 1846-7 

Mexicans and Americans have faced each other in war 
in the past, the hostilities of April, 1914, at Vera Cruz 
being by no means the first between armed forces of the 
United States and the Spanish-Indian citizens of the 
southern Republic. 

Historians do not dignify the numerous engagements 
between the independent Texans and the Mexicans wiih 
the use of the word war. But the war of 1846-7, though 
insignificant in comparison with the civil war in the 
United States, nevertheless was of great consequence and 
far-reaching results. 

The war cost the United States $163,000,0QP and the 
lives of about 25,000 brave soldiers, one-fourth the actual 
number of American fighters who participated in the 
struggle. It left the United States with a debt of 
$85,000,000. But the cost to Mexico was so enormous 
that no attempt ever was made accurately to measure it 
in human lives and dollars. Thousands and thousands 
of Mexicans were slain by the more highly trained sol- 
diers of the United States, though the Mexicans fought 
bravely, gallantly and furiously on many memorable 
occasions. 

The war of 1846 was the result of a boundary dispute. 
Texas had belonged to Mexico, but the vast territory was 
peopled by Americans and but few Mexicans lived in 
Texas. Many Americans, among them the pioneer, 
Stephen Austin, for whom Austin County and the city of 
Austin, Tex., were named, had obtained land grants in 
Texas from the Mexican government. Colonists moved 

91 



98 THE MEXICAN WAR OF 1846-7 

in and the territory was dotted with thriving little com- 
munities. 

THE EEVOLT OF TEXAS 

The elemental differences between the Mexicans and 
Americans and the prejudices of religion and nationality 
could only lead to one result — disputes. When after 
years of virtual self-rule the Mexican government began 
to rule Texas harshly, the Texans rebelled in 1833, and 
in 1836 set up an independent government. The republic 
of Texas, which became the Lone Star State, was bom. 

When Santa Anna, the powerful Mexican chief, over- 
threw the government in one of the numerous revolutions 
from which Mexico was seldom free, Texas prepared to 
seek admittance to the Mexican confederation as a new 
state. Stephen Austin was the commissioner who went 
to the City of Mexico bearing the petition. 

It was ignored and Austin imprudently wrote back to 
the Texan leaders to go ahead and organize a state with- 
out waiting for the government's consent. His letter fell 
into the hands of Santa Anna and Austin was arrested 
and thrown into prison and placed in solitary confinement 
for a year. The indignity inflamed the Texans, but when 
Santa Anna sent General Cos into Texas to enforce an 
act passed in 1830 prohibiting immigration of Americans 
into Texas, and to demand the surrender of Lorenzo de 
Zavala, a refugee wanted because he had introduced a 
bill in the Mexican Congress directed against church 
property, the Texans prepared for resistance. The Mex- 
ican general took possession of the town of Antonio de 
Bexar. 

The Texans, on September 28, 1835, attacked and de- 
feated a small body of Mexicans at Gonzales, on the Eio 
Guadalupe, and the war and revolution of Texas was 
begun. The Mexicans met victory in most of the earlier 
engagements, but the Texans, aided by the United States 
in every possible way, finally defeated Santa Anna, who 



THE MEXICAN WAR OF 1846-7 99 

was himself captured and his army destroyed. Texas 
was free, 

TEXAS BOUNDAKIES DEFINED 

The revolution closed with the battle of San Jacinto 
April 21, 1836, when General Samnel Houston was vic- 
torious and captured Santa Anna. Texan delegates had 
previously met at Washington, on the Brazos, March 2, 
and declared the independence of Texas, drew up a con- 
stitution and formed a government. Santa Anna was a 
captive and readily acknowledged the independence of 
Texas. 

The boundaries of Texas were then defined as ' ' begin- 
ning at the mouth of the Eio Grande, thence up the prin- 
cipal stream of said river to its source ; thence due north 
to 42° of north latitude ; thence along the boundary line, 
as defined in the treaty between the United States and 
Spain (February, 1819), to the beginning." 

Santa Anna's acknowledgment of Texas' independence 
and the treaty of peace which set the Rio Grande del 
Norte as the western boundary of Texas, were repudiated 
a little later, after President Bustamente took charge of 
the reins of Mexican government and recommenced the 
war with Texas, which was carried on in a desultory 
fashion until Texas was finally annexed by the United 
States in 1845. 

In 1844 President John Tyler negotiated a treaty of 
annexation secretly, but it was rejected by the Senate. 
That occurred in April of that year and the question of 
annexing Texas was thereby made a political one, by 
reason of the national nominating conventions meeting 
in May. James K. Polk was nominated by the Democrats 
on a platform of ** reannexation of Texas " and was 
elected the eleventh president of the United States. 

The result of the election was interpreted by President 
Tyler as expressing the will of the voters and he urged 
Congress to acquire Texas. Congress gave the president 



100 THE MEXICAN WAR OF 1846-7 

authority to negotiate with Texas and he chose to submit 
it in the form of a joint resohition to Texas. Texas 
acc^epted the terms. That territory then was slave soil 
and it was arranged that four states to be free soil should 
be formed in that part of Texas north of 36 30' north 
latitude. 

BOUNDAKt- IS DISPUTED 

Texas claimed the Rio Grande River as her western 
boundary and Mexico claimed that the Nueces River was 
the line. The territory between those two rivers was 
disputed. Texas asked that the United States send an 
army to its defense and occupy the disputed strip. 

Accordingly General Zachary Taylor, then in command 
at Camp Jessup, was ordered to move his forces into 
Te?:as. He moved to Corpus Christi oi;i the Arranza Bay 
in the early part of August, 1845. In November of that 
year his forces aggregated 4,049 men, comprising a gen- 
eral staff of 24 officers, two regiments of dragoons, four 
of artillery and five of infantry. 

Mexico, hearing the reports of the annexation of Texas 
by the United States, announced that annexation would 
mean war. 

When General Taylor was ordered into Texas, Captain 
Stockton was ordered to proceed with a squadron to the 
Gulf of Mexico. General Winfield Soptt was the com- 
mander-in-chief of the army. 

Mexico, however, desired no war, and although the 
diplomatic relations of the two countries had been broken 
off, Manuel de la Pena y Pena, Mexican minister of for- 
eign affairs, acceded to a request to receive an envoy 
entrusted with full powers to adjust all differences be- 
tween Mexico and the United States. John Slidell was 
sent to Mexico City. His mission failed. 

GENEKAL, TAYLOR MOVES HIS ARMY 

On January 13, 1846, an order was issued to move 
General Taylor's army from Corpus Christi to the Rio 



THE MEXICAN WAR OF 1846-7 101 

Grande and occupy the western border of the disputed 
territory. The army established its position at Point 
Isabel on March 25 and three days later had arranged 
itself within cannpn range of Metamoras. Official reports 
show that more than one-half of the United States army 
was in the corps of General Taylor. 

General Arista assumed chief command of the Mexican 
army on April 25, 1846, and the same day a detachment of 
sixty-three dragoons was sent to watch the course of the 
river above Metamoras. Thirty miles from the camp 
they were surprised by the Mexicans, sixteen of them were 
killed and wounded, and Captain Thornton, in charge of 
the detachment, was compelled to surrender. General 
Arista treated his prisoners with great respect and 
kindness. 

Three days after the Thornton affair Captain Walker's 
Texas Rangers were attacked and several killed at a point 
between Point Isabel and Metamoras. General Taylor 
left a body of troops in charge of some unfinished field 
work and hurried with his main force back to Point 
Isabel, believing that that place would be attacked and 
the Mexicans would seek to cut him off in the rear. Major 
Jacob Brown was in charge of the work. 

The Mexicans thereupon decided it safe to attack Fort 
Brown. The batteries in Metamoras began a bombard- 
ment on May 3 and the siege was not raised until May 9, 
when General Taylor returned after winning victories 
over Mexican troops at Palo Alto and Resaca de la Palma. 

General Taylor, in his report, stated that he believed 
General Arista had about 6,000 men and that the Aifier- 
ican army lost four men killed and thirty-seven wounded 
at Palo Alto and occupied the field, the Mexicans retreat- 
ing with a loss of about 100 killed. General Taylor's 
force in that battle did not exceed 2,300 men. On the 
next day — May 9 — he met and again defeated the Mex- 
ican force at Resaca de la Palma and they fled across the 
Rio Grande, many of them being overwhelmed in its 



102 THE MEXICAN WAR OF 1846-7 

waters. General Taylor reported to the war department 
the loss of forty-three killed and about 100 wounded, and 
300 Mexicans killed and a much greater number wounded. 
General La Vega was among those captured and refused 
a parole. He was sent to New Orleans. 

CONGRESS DECLAEES WAR 

As a result of these engagements, President Polk asked 
Congress on May 12 to declare war, and the next day 
Congress declared that war existed between Mexico and 
the United States, and voted $10,000,000, and a call for 
50,000 volunteers was made. General Scott was called 
into consultation with the president and was informed 
he was to be assigned to command the army in Mexico 
at once. He then began plans for conquering Mexico. 
He said he wanted a special army of 30,000 effective men, 
but his force never reached that number. Actually, the 
regulars were less than 7,000 strong, and the twenty-four 
regiments of volunteers made about 18,000 men. 

Preparations for an advance into the interior of Mexico 
required several months, and differences of opinion 
among officials and between certain of them and General 
Scott caused further delay, so that the commander did 
not leave Washington until November, 1846. He reached 
the mouth of the Rio Grande in January, 1847, and called 
on General Taylor to send him 10,000 men. 

Although his force had been increased, General Taylor 
could ill afford to send General Scott any large number 
of men. He had occupied Metamoras after the battle 
of Resaca de la Palma and planned to push ahead against 
Monterey. 

BATTLE OP MONTEREY 

The march on Monterey began on August 20, 1846. 
The battle at that point did not commence, however, until 
the night of September 20. General Taylor moved his 
forces slowly, and although he had believed that General 



THE MEXICAN WAE OF 1846-7 103 

Pedro Ampudia, commanding the Mexicans in Monterey, 
had no more than 2,000 or 3,000, it later was discovered 
that the force was twice as strong. 

Monterey is situated in the valley of the San Juan 
River, which flows behind the city. The ridges of the 
Sierra Madre Mountains also rise behind the city. The 
army approached by the road from Marin. At the left 
of the road before Monterey the river bends along the 
highway. On the right the road to Saltillo leads up 
through the valley. On a prominence above the Saltillo 
road was the Bishop 's Palace and on other heights were 
fortifications occupied by the Mexicans. In front of the 
city was the citadel, with a strong garrison. 

On the night of September 20, General Taylor sent a 
division to turn the position at the Bishop's Palace, 
which was accomplished, the division remaining outside 
range of the Mexicans' guns. Howitzers and mortars 
were placed in position against the citadel and on the 
morning of the 21st the battle began. 

The lower part of the city was first attacked and the 
Americans found the enemy entrenched in the streets. 
They had little success that day. On the following day 
the heights above the Bishop's Palace were stormed and 
the next found the Mexicans concentrated in the heart 
of the city, fighting from the citadel and the Plaza. The 
Americans literally had to fight their way from house to 
house and so strong were the barricades that they dug 
through one house and barricaded street into the next. 
The citadel remained untaken and to have reduced it 
would have meant great loss of life. 

General Ampudio finally asked for terms of surrender, 
and on the night of August 23, General Taylor arranged 
an eight weeks' armistice with the Mexican commander. 
By those terms the Mexicans were allowed to evacuate 
the city with their arms. General Taylor, however, had 
received no wagon trains, and provisions were running 
low. 



104 THE MEXICAN WAR OF 1846-7 

The American loss at Monterey was 400 killed and 
wounded. 

The news of the armistix^e was not favorably received 
in Washington and its cessation was ordered on October 
13. General Taylor so announced to General Santa Anna, 
then conunander-in-ehief of the Mexican army, but when 
he suggested that an honorable peace might be arranged 
the Mexican general is said to have declared that there 
could be no peace so long as a North American remained 
on Mexican soil. 

The troops did not move again until November 12, when 
a march on Saltillo was made, and that point, Parras, and 
finally Victoria, were occupied without real opposition. 
The American forces occupied Victoria on December 29, 
arid Tampico being taken by Cj^mmodore Perry, the cam- 
paign of the Rio Grande, in which General Taylor and his 
men had signally honored themselves and their country 
many times, was substantially brought to a close. 

BATTLE OF BUENA VISTA 

The battle of Buena Vista, which was to decide whether 
or not the Americans would remain in command of the 
valley of the Rio Grande, was yet to be lought, however. 

General Taylor returned to Monterey from Victoria 
in January, 1847. He had left about 6,000 men, after 
sending three of his strongest divisions of regulars to 
Tampico to join General Scott's expedition against Vera 
Cruz, the most important port on the Gulf of Mexico. 

Santa Anna, with a magnificent force of more than 
20,000 men, the best fighting men of Mexico, though many 
of them were, of course, volunteers and recruits, was at 
San Luis Potosi. He planned to go against General 
Taylor, then to hurry to the coast to attack General Scott 
and frustrate the assault on Vera Cruz. 

General Taylor learned of his approach and moved 
his force to Buena Vista, establishing his men in a strong 
mountain position. With his volunteers, he there calmly 



THE MEXICAN WAR OF 1846-7 105 

prepared to await the coming of the Mexican troops, 
trusting to the strength of his position, the enthusiasm 
of his men and Providence to win a victory. 

When the contending forces met, the general again dis- 
tinguished himself; his sharpshooting volunteers never 
wavered and the Mexican loss was enormous. This battle 
was the crowning victory of the Rio Grande campaign. 
The American loss was 267 killed, 456 wounded and 
twenty-three missing. 

Santa Anna had been compelled to move his men across 
a desert country, but after the defeat he nevertheless set 
out resolutely to meet Scott. 

GENERAL SCOTT 'S CAMPAIGN 

General Scott planned to take 12,000 men in the expe- 
dition against Vera Cruz. He sailed from New York 
November 30, 1846, and went to New Orleans, thence to 
the mouth of the Rio Grande. He was joined by the 
troops sent on by General Taylor. New volunteers and 
a few regulars gathered from forts throughout the coun- 
try had made a rendezvous of the Island of Lobos, 125 
miles northwest of Vera Cruz. The troops from the 
Upper Rio Grande were taken on board transports and 
taken to Lobos. 

On the morning of March 7, 1847, General Scott, on 
board the Massachusetts with Commodore Connor, 
reconnoitered and at sunset the troops which had been 
transported in the warships were landed opposite the 
Island of Sacrificios. They expected to be met by the 
Mexicans, but the latter did not appear. 

In full view was the city and the old castle of San Juan 
d'Uloa. The guns of the castle and city opened fire, but 
no Mexican troops appeared. In the days that followed 
numerous skirmishes occurred, but preparations for the 
siege continued, and in accord with General Scott's 
orders, prepared in advance, the line of siege was made 
five miles long. Heavy guns were landed from the ships 



106 THE MEXICAN WAE OF 1846-7 

of war on the night of March 17 and on the 18th trenches 
were opened and the army gradually moved in upon the 
invested city. 

Surrender was demanded on March 22, but the gov- 
ernor of the castle refused. The heavy batteries imme- 
diately began their deadly fire. More guns reinforced 
the besiegers in succeeding days and the siege was furious 
day and night. Consuls of European governments sought 
a truce, but General Scott replied that they had had the 
opportunity to leave, with all women and children, and 
they had not availed themselves of that opportunity ; and 
that the exigencies of war demanded continuation of the 
siege. 

SUKEENDER OF VERA CRUZ 

The American shells made Vera Cruz a fiery furnace, 
and on March 26 the Mexicans made overtures of sur- 
render. Articles of capitulation were signed on the night 
of the 27th. 

On the morning of March 29, the American flag floated 
over the ancient castle and forts about the city. The 
city was taken with the loss of two officers and a few pri- 
vates. The Americans had protected themselves well in 
their entrenchments and the fire of the heavy guns from 
the ships of war was effective. The Mexican fire from 
the castle and forts, on the other hand, had little effect. 
Commodore Connor was given much credit for the assist- 
ance of the sailors and the heavy guns. 

By the terms of the capitulation General Scott obtained 
the surrender of 5,000 prisoners on parole, and all arms 
and munitions of war. The capture of the city left the 
way open toward the City of Mexico. 

It was just 328 years since Hernando Cortez had landed 
at Vera Cruz and begun his conquering march which sub- 
dued the ancient Aztecs and obtained for Spain the land 
of the Montezumas ; Spain having ruled Mexico until the 
country won independence in 1821. 



THE MEXICAN WAR OF 1846-7 107 

ON TO MEXICO CITY 

General Scott found the way to Mexico City hard. His 
ranks became thinner and thinner. Many perished by 
disease. He never once planned to go back. For him 
the march to the capital would only be ended with com- 
plete victory. He left Vera Cruz April 8, after making 
General W. J. Worth governor of the city and castle. 
General Worth had successfully stormed the heights 
above the Bishop 's Palace at Monterey and proved one of 
the most distinguished aids to both General Taylor and 
Commander-in-Chief Scott. 

The army proceeded along the Jalapa road. Wagons 
arrived from the United States slowly, and there were 
great quantities of ammunition, arms and provisions to 
be moved. When they arrived the march began. In three 
days the foot of the mountains had been reached. 

BATTLE OF CEKRO GORDO 

Meanwhile General Santa Anna, with 15,000 men, had 
crossed the interior provinces and was ready to defend 
the heights of Cerro Gordo. General Twiggs, who also 
won fame for his participation in the Eio Grande cam- 
paign with General Taylor, was in advance with his 
division. He planned to attack the enemy in their almost 
impregnable position behind the fortifications of Cerro 
Gordo on April 13, but was persuaded to delay the attack 
until General Scott arrived from the rear. 

The commander-in-chief deemed a frontal attack sure 
to end in defeat. He ordered a road built around the 
base of the mountains that the army might reach the rear 
of the Mexican forces on the heights. His men accom- 
plished the herculean task. The Mexicans did not dis- 
cover the work in progress until three days had passed. 
Then they began firing, or April 17. That night General 
Scott ordered as f ollov ^ • 

" The enemy's whole line af entrenchments and bat- 
teries will be attacked in '^^ont, and at the same time 
turned, early in the day torr .^rrow." 



108 THE MEXICAN WAR OF 1846-7 

The order was executed, the heights were stormed, the 
enemy routed, and a vigorous pursuit followed until 
Jalapa was in view. AVhen Cerro Gordo fell General La 
Vega and 3,000 prisoners were taken. General Scott 
scarcely knew what to do with them. Santa Anna and 
8,000 men had escaped. They were pursued to Jalapa 
by General Worth's reserve division. 

General Scott lost 250 killed and wounded, the Mex- 
icans many more. He did not halt, but pushed on rapidly, 
taking Jalapa on April 19. On April 22 he took Perote. 
Moving slowly then, the army pushed on and on May 15 
General Worth's men entered Puebla, encountering little 
opposition. Thus the campaign from Vera Cruz to 
Puebla in two months ' time was a procession of unbroken 
victories. 

Ten thousand prisoners had been taken, thousands of 
arms of all kinds seized, and General Scott became a 
greater popular idol than ever before in his great career. 

IN THE VALLEY OF MEXICO 

In Puebla he rested until August 7. Three days later 
he was within sight of the City of Mexico. Round about 
that city prosperity then appeared abundan^. There 
were fields of waving grain, which indicated that hus- 
bandry had been resumed in Mexico in spite of revolution 
and war. Agricultural pursuits had suffered great 
depression, but when General Scott's army of slightly 
more than 4,000 effective men, many ill, some wounded, 
and all tired and worn by the campaign, arrived on the 
borders of the Valley of Mexico, there were many indica- 
tions of labor and thrift. The native Mexican, however, 
was exactly as he had been 1,000 years before — and in 
this twentieth century many contend he is the same. 

Six miles from Puebla had stood the ancient city of 
Cholula, believed to have been once a city of 200,000 
inhabitants. There Hernando Cortez had seen the spires 
of 400 idol temples. Not even ruins remained in 1847. 



THE MEXICAN WAR OF 1846-7 109 

Only a huge pyramid, truncated at the top, believed to 
have been dedicated to the gods of the Aztecs, remained 
as a monument of the once proud city. 

After two months of delay, in which period illness, 
short rations and attacks of guerilla parties had harassed 
General Scott's forces, new regiments and supplies were 
forwarded, and in the early part of August, 1847, the 
commander-in-chief started for the City of Mexico sur- 
rounded by many strong positions and forts. His army 
had been augmented to slightly less than 11,000 men. The 
troops marched along the National road, ascended the 
Anahuac range of the Corderilla Mountains, and on the 
third day reached the pass of Rio Frio, 10,120 feet above 
sea level; and, a few miles farther on, reached the crest 
of the mountain and beheld the Valley of Mexico. On 
August 11, Ayotla, fifteen miles from the capital, was 
reached. Here a survey was made and General Scott 
determined that the fortifications directly in front of the 
city would prove extremely hard to take and that the 
effort would involve great loss of life. 

General Santa Anna had strongly fortified all the posi- 
tions around the city, but the National road, as the most 
common mode of ingress to the capital, was presumed to 
be the route which the invading army would follow. Gen- 
eral Scott, however, determined to send his men miles 
out of their way around Lake Chalco to the Acalpuco 
road west of the lake. On that highway San Augustine 
was selected as a depot. Between that point were San 
Antonio, Conteras and Churubusco, where successive 
engagements took place. 

SCOTT 'S STEATEGY WINS 

In sending the army around the south end of Lake 
Chalco, a route deemed impracticable by the Mexicans, 
it was necessary for the soldiers to cut another road for 
the artillery, even as they did about Cerro Gordo. It 
was done, and in three days General Scott's forces had 



110 THE MEXICAN WAR OF 1846-7 

reached the neighborhood of San Augustine after a march 
of twenty-seven miles. The first fortified point ahead 
was San Antonia. 

The commander-in-chief determined to pass around 
that point, take the strong fort of Contreras, west of San 
Antonia, passing around to the rear of the latter point 
and attack Churubusco. Batteries at San Antonia began 
firing on August 18, but no great damage was done, and 
by strategy three brigades were moved about Contreras 
on the night of the 19th, and taking position in a ravine 
the Americans were able to strike hard on the morning 
of AugTist 20. The Mexicans were surprised, having 
been unaware of the force in the ravine, and fled in a 
rout with large losses. They lost 700 killed, about 1,000 
wounded and more than 800 were taken prisoners. One 
writer says, '' The actual conflict lasted but seventeen 
minutes! The pursuit for hours." 

Churubusco, situated four miles east, with formidable 
entrenchments, was next to be taken by the entire army, 
though several brigades were sent back to San Antonia 
and that point taken with no great difficulty. With two 
important victories, the army then marched on to Churu- 
busco, and in the third memorable engagement attacked 
the fortifications in two places simultaneously and car- 
ried them, though under deadly fire and with consider- 
able loss. 

It was here that several American deserters actually 
manned batteries for the enemy and fought desperately, 
killing many Americans. A number of the deserters 
were captured, twenty-nine were sentenced to be hanged 
and twenty of them were executed. 

A TRUCE AGREED UPON 

On the morning of August 21, following the memor- 
able engagements of the preceding day, General Scott 
advanced toward the City of Mexico. He was met by 
representatives of General Santa Anna and an armistice 



THE MEXICAN WAR OF 1846-7 111 

proposed. He marched oiij however, to Tacubaya and 
slept that night in the Archbishop 's Palace near the great 
castle of Chapultepec. The next day the general met the 
representatives of Santa Anna and agreed on a truce. 

The impression had prevailed in the United States 
early in the year 1847 that Mexico wanted peace and Mr. 
N. P. Trist was sent from Washington as the envoy of 
President Polk to confer with representatives of the 
Mexican government. Negotiations failed, for Mexico 
was not ready to yield. 

BATTLE OF CHAPULTEPEC 

On September 7 of that year, after it was known the 
peace negotiations had been unsuccessful, General Scott 
prepared to resume hostilities. He determined to take 
the City of Mexico by assault. Less than a mile from 
his headquarters in the village of Tacubaya were the 
enemy's fortifications and the rocky hill of Chapultepec. 
Approach seemed only permitted from the forest covered 
slope on the west. At the base were the towered stone 
structure of El Molino del Rey and Casa de Mata, another 
strong stone building, with batteries between. 

On the morning of September 8 the battle began and 
in bloody engagements the victorious army, greatly out- 
numbered but intrepid and unconquerable, drove the Mex- 
icans from their fortified positions. Munitions were 
taken and destroyed and the enemy routed from those 
positions at the base of Chapultepec, but that apparently 
impregnable castle remained to be taken, for it com- 
manded the City of Mexico and the roads to the capital. 

After the double victory at the foot of Chapultepec the 
forces retired to Tacubaya and General Scott planned 
the final assault. Batteries were erected and began firing 
on the morning of September 12. The firing, intended 
to cripple the defenses, preliminary to storming the place, 
continued all day. On the morning of the 13th the col- 



112 THE MEXICAN WAE OF 1846-7 

umns cliarged and carried the castle and placed the 
American flag on its ramparts. 

IN THE CITY OF MEXICO 

The way was then open to the capital and with more 
fighting that night at the Belem and San Cosmo gates 
the Americans entered the outer districts of the city, 
where the soldiers and citizens fought from behind breast- 
w^orks and" from the roofs of houses. 

"Wlien morning came the ayuntamiento (city council) 
informed General Scott that the government and the 
army had evacuated, and at 7 o'clock that morning — 
September 14, 1847 — the American flag floated over the 
National Palace. 

The capital was taken with less than 6,000 men, while 
the Mexicans had 30,000 in the neighborhood when the 
Americans rounded Lake Chalco. General Scott reported 
his losses in the fighting of August 19 and 20 and Sep- 
tember 8, 12, 13 and 14, as 2,703 killed and wounded, 
including 383 officers. 

SANTA ANNA IN EXILE 

General Santa Anna escaped from the capital with 
some two or three thousand men and was next heard of 
when he attacked the city of Puebla, where a small garri- 
son had been left, on September 25. Before he could 
accomplish anything even against that small garrison his 
men deserted him and he became an exile. He formally 
resigned the supreme power October 18. Pena y Pena, 
president of the Supreme Court of Justice, took charge 
and called a congress of the states at Queretaro to pre- 
pare to restore a federal government and to arrange a 
treaty of peace with the United States. This was done 
in November, 1847, and one of the first acts of the new 
government was to appoint a commission to meet Mr. 
N. P. Trist and negotiate terms of peace. 

While General Taylor was conquering northeastern 




Effects of shell fire during the "Ten Days' Fight" 




U. S. battleship Florida cleared for rough weather 




Cubtuui House and Wliail', Tampico 




In the harbor at Vera Cruz 




Major General Leonard Wood, former chief of staff of the United States 

Army, named as commander-in-chief of forces in the 

field in case of war, 




Aicxieaii favalry oi llueitu's aniiy in ^Mexico City 




The rurales — a part of the Federal forces of Mexico 



THE MEXICAN WAR OF 1846-7 113 

Mexico, General Stephen W. Kearney made a bloodless 
conquest of New Mexico. California was taken by Lieu- 
tenant John C. Fremont, the explorer known as '* the 
Pathfinder,'* and thus New Mexico and California were 
claimed for the United States. Commodore Stockton, 
with a fleet on the Pacific coast, made California safe for 
the American settlers who had set up the " Bear State 
Republic " because of Mexican depredations. 

THE TKEATY OF PEACE 

On February 2, 1848, a treaty of peace was signed by 
Mr. Trist and three Mexican commissioners. Although 
Mr. Trist 's powers as a commissioner had been with- 
drawn by President Polk, he nevertheless assumed to 
act. The terms of the document by which several million 
dollars were to be paid Mexico in return for New Mexico 
and California caused much controversy in Washington 
and throughout the United States. The treaty, with sev- 
eral important amendments, was finally ratified, however, 
by the United States Senate, March 10. Several weeks 
later the Mexican Congress ratified it, but it was not 
until June 19, 1848, that it was announced to the people 
of the United States that the treaty was complete and 
the country at peace with Mexico. 

TEEMS OF THE TEEATY 

By the terms of the treaty the United States was to 
retain New Mexico and California — an addition of 522,- 
568 square miles — but Mexico was to be paid $15,000,000 
for this territory. In addition, claims of $3,500,000 of 
citizens of the United States against Mexico were to be 
paid by the American government. 

Another treaty was made with Mexico in 1853, when 
the boundary line was changed so that by payment of 
$10,000,000 the United States acquired 45,535 square 
miles additional — generally called the '' Gadsden Pur- 
chase," after James Gadsden, the man who negotiated 
the agreement. 



CHAPTER VI 
EARLY HISTORY OF MEXICO 

The history of the earliest development of Mexico is 
shrouded in what has been well called ' ' an impenetrable 
mist of fable. ' ' Scientific investigation and archeological 
researches have not yet lifted the veil sufficiently to dis- 
close the original inhabitants of the country. Ruins and 
hieroglyphics in different portions of the Republic reveal 
the story of a series of immigrations from the north 
towards the south, but the point from which the pere- 
grinations began has not been and never may be made 
known. 

Mexican historians generally agree, however, found- 
ing their theories on the interpretations of hieroglyphics 
and upon the ancient ruins, that the country was invaded 
by seven families, successively immigrating from the 
north, all speaking the same language, the Nahuatl or 
Mexican; but history does not reveal the starting point 
of these races nor disclose the mystery of the multiplicity 
of languages of so diverse a character spoken by the 
many tribes that followed them, nor the causes that 
impelled them to abandon their former homes. Accord- 
ing to the Mexican scholar, Pimental, not one of the one 
hundred and eight indigeneous tongues bears any analogy 
to Asiatic tongues, but certain resemblances to the lan- 
guage of the Esquimaux would indicate direct communi- 
cation between Asia and America. 

AEEIVAL OP THE TOLTECS 

The annals of the Toltecs have furnished a start- 
ing point for the history of Mexico. These composed 
a semicivilized nation who inhabited a country called 

114 



EARLY HISTOEY OF MEXICO 115 

Huehiietlappallan, towards the north of the continent, 
where they built cities and temples, and were versed in 
agriculture, the arts, and the computation of time. Owing 
to civil disturbances, the Toltecs, with a number of their 
partisans and neighbors, in the year 544 A. D., were 
expelled from their country and began their wanderings 
southward, founding cities on their way. 

In 648 they arrived in Anahuac and one hundred and 
seventeen years after leaving their country they reached 
the present site of Tula (50 miles north of the City of 
Mexico, on the line of the Mexican Central Railroad), 
where they laid the foundation of their powerful king- 
dom. This tribe remained here until overthrown by 
the ' * lords of Jalisco, ' ' in 1116, eleven monarchs having 
reigned. 

OEIGIN- OF PULQUE 

There is a notable event in the history of the Toltecs 
which deserves mention, as it is well authenticated. It 
is the origin of the universal and famous Mexican bev- 
erage " pulque " in the reign of the eighth Toltec chief, 
Tepaucaltzin, in the latter half of the eleventh century. 

It is narrated that a noble named Papantzin discovered 
the method of extracting the juice of the maguey plant, 
of which it is made, and sent some of the fermented 
liquid to his chief by the hand of his daughter, the beau- 
tiful Xochitl, called the Flower of Tollan (Tula). The 
chief, enamored both of the drink and the maiden, 
retained the latter a willing prisoner, and she became 
the mother of his illegitimate son, who afterwards wielded 
the scepter. This incident inaugurated the troubles of 
the Toltecs. And pulque has been causing trouble ever 
since. 

After the dispersion of the Toltecs, a roving tribe, the 
Chichimecas, hearing of the former's overthrow, occu- 
pied the abandoned country, starting for it from the 
north in 1117. 



116 EARLY HISTORY OF MEXICO 

Other tribes of the original seven successively 
descended from the north and spread themselves over 
the valley of Mexico, founding cities and erecting temples 
and palaces. 

THE AZTECS IN THE VALLEY 

The last tribe to reach the valley was the Aztec, or 
Mexican, whose annals claim the greatest interest in the 
history of Mexico. This tribe is supposed to have orig- 
inally come from the north of California, according to 
the historian, Clavijero, their country being called Aztlan. 
They reached Tula (50 miles north of the present City 
of Mexico) in 1196, remaining there nine years, and 
spending eleven in other parts of the valley. At the 
expiration of this time they arrived in Zumpango, 30 
miles north of their future capital. Here they were 
received and the chief's son married a daughter of one 
of the Mexican families. Prom this marriage sprang 
the military chiefs of the Mexicans. 

LEGEND OF THE EAGLE 

After many wanderings they settled on the marshy 
islands near the western borders of Lake Texococo, and 
there, in the year 1325, was established the nucleus of 
the city first called Tenochitlan, derived according to 
some authorities from Tenoch, one of their priests and 
leaders. Other authorities claim that the name comes 
from Tenuch (prickly pear cactus), as there is an old 
legend that the leaders of the tribes of Mexicans wander- 
ing in search of a place to rest, saw an eagle standing 
upon a cactus strangling a serpent, on the site of the 
City of Mexico. This legend has been generally accepted 
and gave Mexico the design for its escutcheon. 

The present name of the City of Mexico finds its source 
in the name of the Aztec's god of war, Mexitli, also 
known as Huitzilopochtli. The name of the country dem- 
onstrates the hold the maguey plant had upon the ancient 



EARLY HISTORY OF MEXICO 117 

tribes. Mexican traditions, as preserved in the most 
ancient writings, relate that this god Huitzilopochtli was 
born of a virgin belonging to the noble family of Citli 
(free and ancestral) ; that his cradle was the heart of a 
maguey plant (metl), and hence the name of Mecitli, 
afterwards changed into Mexitli and finally into 
''Mexico." 

THE FIRST AZTEC KING 

Here the Aztecs constituted their first government, 
which was theocratic and military under Tenoch, who 
died in the year 1343. Three years subsequent to his 
death the form of government changed, and in 1376 the 
first king was elected. Ten kings followed, during the 
reign of whom the Aztecs devoted themselves to the arts 
of peace and built a fine city, connecting it with the main- 
land by four causeways. The last of the Aztec monarchs 
was Cauhtemoc, whose conquest by Hernando Cortez 
brought an end to the Mexican dynasty. 

EMPIRE OF THE MONTEZUMAS 

The Montezumas established their empire about the 
year 1460 and continued to govern till the arrival of the 
Spaniards in 1521, when Montezuma II. was killed by 
the arrows of his own warriors when Cortez forced him 
to go upon the portico of his palace to quell, if possible, 
the rioting Aztecs, who under Cauhtemoc were attempt- 
ing his rescue. Cauhtemoc, the nephew of Montezuma, 
became his successor and was the last of the Aztec kings. 

CONQUEST BY CORTEZ 

Hernando Cortez, a famous Spanish officer, sailed from 
Santiago de Cuba for Mexico February 18, 1519. The 
fleet consisted of eleven ships, carrying 110 sailors, six- 
teen cavalry men with their horses, 553 foot soldiers, 200 
Cuban Indians, a battery of ten small cannon and four 
falconets; with this army went two Indians as inter- 
preters, captured by Corboda in Yucatan two years 
previous. 



118 EARLY HISTORY OF MEXICO 

On his ship Cortez raised the standard of the conquest, 
a black ensign, emblazoned with the arms of Charles V. 
of Spain, bearing the crimson cross borne in clouds, with 
the motto: Amici, sequam crucem et si nos fidem 
habemus vere in hoc signo vincemus — '* Friends, let us 
follow the cross, and if we have faith we will conquer. '* 

The first landing was on March 20, 1519, near the Rio 
Tabasco, where there was fighting with the natives and a 
number made captives, among whom was La Marina, a 
native of Jalisco, sold here as a slave. She understood 
the language of the uplands as well as the coast, and thus, 
through her, Cortez could communicate with the people. 
La Marina soon learned the Spanish language and 
became the interpreter, ally and wife of the conqueror. 

Cortez then sailed up the coast and dropped his 
anchors off Vera Cruz, April 21, 1519. Efforts to secure 
a peaceful reception on the part of the natives were 
unavailing. Discontent arose among the Spaniards. 
Cortez, acting with his customary decision, burned his 
ships, and on the 16th of August began his march toward 
the capital of the Aztecs. 

With little incident or opposition the brave band of 
adventurers reached the table-lands and after a fight with 
the Tlaxacalans secured them as their allies. The natives 
were completely terrorized by the cannon and fire-arms, 
and the horse and rider of the cavalry were regarded 
as almost a god, or at least one being, as they had never 
seen a horse, so the invaders proceeded on their march, 
unopposed, and entered the present City of Mexico, Tues- 
day, November 8, 1519. 

The Aztec king, Montezuma, came out to meet Cortez, 
tradition says, on the site of the present Hospital de 
Jesus, founded by him in commemoration of this meet- 
ing. The aggressions of the Spaniards, and their oppres- 
sion of the Mexicans soon turned their apparent friend- 
ship to hatred, and they drove them out of the city over 
the Tlacopan causeway, now called Tacuba, on the night 



EARLY HISTORY OF MEXICO 119 

of July 1, 1520, called la noche triste, or the Dismal or 
Sorrowful Night; retreating, Cortez fought another bat- 
tle at Otumba on the 8th of July, where the Tlaxacalans 
came to his rescue and turned the tide of war in his 
favor, and he halted in the city of these allies. While 
at Tlaxacala reinforcements came from Cuba, and pow- 
der for the cannon and small arms was made from the 
sulphur taken from the crater of Popocatepetl. 

Montezuma died on the 30th of June, the day before 
the Noche Triste, and his nephew, who, it is said, shot 
the arrow that caused Montezuma's death, was placed in 
command. The siege continued till the native garrison 
was starved into submission, and the Spaniards made 
their second and triumphal entry into the City of Mexico, 
August 13, 1521; but they found a different city than 
that when the meek Montezuma met them at the city 
gates. Almost all the treasure had been destroyed or 
concealed, and to extort the secret from Montezuma's 
nephew, Cortez cruelly put him to torture, but without 
avail ; the wealth of jewels, gold and precious stones had 
been thrown into the lake. 

Hernando Cortez, the conqueror, died in the town of 
Castelleja de la Questa, in Spain, December 2, 1547. 

IN" THE AZTEC CAPITAL 

No better description of the great market-place of 
the Aztecs has ever been written than that penned by 
Cortez to Charles V. of Spain. He was the first European 
who ever beheld that novel spectacle and said : 

" There is one square, twice as large as that of Sala- 
manca, all surrounded by arcades, where there are daily 
more than sixty thousand souls, buying and selling, and 
where are found all the kinds of merchandise produced 
in these countries, including food products, jewels of gold 
and silver, lead, brass, copper, zinc, stones, bones, shells, 
and feathers. Stones are sold, hewn and unhewn; 
adobes, bricks, and wood, both in the rough and manu- 



120 EARLY HISTORY OF MEXICO 

factured in various ways. There is a street for game, 
where they sell every sort of bird, such as chickens, 
partridges, quails, wild-ducks, fly-catchers, widgeons, 
turtle-doves, pigeons, reed-birds, parrots, eagles, owls, 
eaglets, owlets, falcons, sparrow-hawks, and kestrels, and 
they sell the skin of some of these birds of prey with their 
feathers, heads, beaks, and claws. They sell rabbits, 
hares, and small dogs, which latter they raise for the 
purpose of eating. 

** There is a street set apart for the sale of herbs, 
where can be found every sort of root and medicinal herb 
that grows in the country. There are houses like apothe- 
cary shops, where prepared medicines are sold, as well as 
liquids, ointments, and plasters. There are places like 
our barber shops, where they wash, and shave their 
heads. There are houses where they supply food and 
drink for payment. There are men who carry burdens, 
such as are called in Castile porters. There is much 
wood, charcoal, braziers made of earthenware, and mats 
of divers kinds for beds, and others very thin, used as 
cushions and for carpeting halls and bedrooms. There 
are all sorts of vegetables and especially onions, leeks, 
garlic, borage, nasturtium, water-cresses, sorrel, thistles, 
and artichokes. There are many kinds of fruits, amongst 
others cherries, and prunes like the Spanish ones. They 
sell bees ' honey and wax, and honey made of corn stalks, 
which is as sweet and syrup-like as that of sugar, also 
honey of a plant called maguey, which is better than 
most ; from these same plants they make sugar and wine, 
which they also sell. 

[The whitish, slippery, fermented liquor called pulque 
is extracted from the maguey and is still the popular 
drink in Mexico ; as it must be drunk fresh, special pulque 
trains daily carry supplies to towns along the railway 
lines. Flavored with pineapple, strawberry, and other 
fresh fruit juices, and well iced, it is a very good drink, 
wholesome, and only intoxicating if drunk immoderately.] 



EARLY HISTORY OF MEXICO 121 

^' They also sell skeins of different kinds of spun cot- 
ton, in all colours, so that it seems quite like one of the 
silk markets of Granada, although it is on a greater scale ; 
also as many different colours for painters as can be 
found in Spain and of as excellent hues. They sell deer- 
skins, with all the hair tanned on them, and of different 
colours ; much earthenware, exceedingly good, many sorts 
of pots, large and small, pitchers, large tiles, an infinite 
variety of vases, all of very singular clay, and most of 
them glazed and painte'^ They sell maize, both in the 
grain and made into bread, which is very superior in its 
quality to that of the other islands and mainland ; pies of 
birds and fish, also much fish, fresh, salted, cooked, and 
raw; eggs of hens, and geese, and other birds in great 
quantity, and cakes made of eggs. 

" Finally, besides those things I have mentioned, they 
sell in the city markets everything else that is found in 
the whole country and which, — on account of the profu- 
sion and number, do not occur to my memory, nor do I 
describe the things, because I do not know their names. 
Each sort of merchandise is sold in its respective street 
and they do not mix their kinds of merchandise of any 
species; thus they preserve perfect order. Everything 
is sold by a kind of measure, and until now, we have not 
seen anything sold by weight. 

''There is in this square a very large building, like a 
court of justice, where there are always ten or twelve per- 
sons sitting as judges, and delivering their decisions upon 
all cases that arise in the markets. There are other 
persons in the same square who go about continually 
among the people, observing what is sold, and the meas- 
ures used in selling, and they have been seen to break 
some which were false. 

'' This great city contains many mosques, or houses 
for idols, very beautiful edifices situated in the different 
precincts of it; in the principal ones of which dwell the 
religious orders of their sect, for whom, besides the 



122 EARLY HISTORY OF MEXICO 

houses in whicli they keep their idols, there are very good 
habitations provided. All these priests dress in black 
and never cut or comb their hair from the time they enter 
the religious order until they leave it; and the sons of 
all the principal families, both of chiefs as well as of 
noble citizens are in these religious orders and habits 
from the age of seven or eight years, till they are taken 
away for the purpose of marriage. This happens more 
frequently with the first-born who inherit the property, 
than with the others. They have no access to women, 
nor are they allowed to enter the religious houses; they 
abstain from eating certain dishes, and more so at cer- 
tain times of the year than at others. ' * 

DISCOVEEY OF THE TREASURE 

The discovery by Cortez of the treasure-house of the 
Montezumas has been thus described by Mr. MacNutt: 

From the market-place Cortez went to the teocalli, or 
temple of the Aztecs, where Montezuma, who had been 
carried thither in his litter, awaited him. Six men were 
in readiness to spare him the fatigue of the ascent by 
carrying him up the steps, but, refusing their proffered 
assistance, he and his soldiers marched up the broad 
staircase to the top where the emperor received him. In 
reply to the courteous observation of Montezuma that he 
must be fatigued by the climb, Cortez answered, with a 
touch of bravado that was unusual to him, *' Nothing 
ever tires me or my companions." 

From the summit of the teocalli, towering as it did 
above the entire city, an extensive view of the capital 
and its surroundings was offered to the Spaniards, who 
gazed on the beauty of the scene with interest, increased 
by the sight of the system of canals and bridges, by 
which they might be completely cut off from retreat at 
Montezuma's pleasure. 

The first thought of Cortez, however, was to plant a 
Christian church on the teocalli. Fray Bartolome de 



EARLY HISTORY OF MEXICO 123 

Olmedo, who was present, objected and reasoned so 
earnestly against a step that was obviously premature 
and also dangerous, that the commander consented to 
refrain from mentioning his wish at that time. He asked 
permission, however, to see the interior of the sanctu- 
aries and, after consulting with the priests, Montezuma 
accorded his consent. The sight that met the eyes of 
the Spaniards was a horrifying one. The gigantic 
images of Huitzilopochtli, the god of war, and his com- 
panion deity Tezcatlipoca, decorated with gold and 
precious stones and splashed with human gore, stood 
within the dim sanctuary that reeked with the blood of 
recent sacrifices and the heavy fumes of copal incense. 
On a golden salver lay human hearts. 

Revolted by this ghastly spectacle, Cortez spoke to 
Montezuma through La Marina, saying, '* My lord 
Montezuma, I know not how so great a sovereign and so 
wise a man as Your Majesty should never have perceived 
that these idols are no gods, but the things of evil, called 
devils." He further asked for permission to cast out 
the idols, cleanse the temple, and erect there a cross and 
a statue of the Blessed Virgin that Montezuma had 
already seen. The consternation and anger provoked 
by this demand were very great and Montezuma 
answered with offended dignity, '' Had I thought, Senor 
Malintzin, that you would offer such an insult as you 
have thought well to utter, I would not have shown you 
my gods ; we hold them to be very good, for they give us 
health, rains, good harvests, victory, and all we desire; 
hence we are bound to adore them and offer them sacri- 
fice. I beg you to dishonor them no further. ' ' 

Even Cortez saw that he had gone too far and, chang- 
ing his tone, he took leave of his host, who remained 
behind to placate the outraged deities with fresh 
sacrifices. 

The Spaniards, with the emperor's consent, fitted up 
a chapel in one of the rooms of the palace they occupied, 



124 EARLY HISTORY OF MEXICO 

where mass was celebrated as long as the limited supply 
of wine held out. The soldiers said their prayers before 
the altar, with its statue of the Blessed Virgin and the 
symbol of the cross, and all assembled there for the 
Angelus. 

While the altar in this improvised chapel was being 
erected, the carpenter discovered a masked door which, 
on being opened, was found to lead to a vast hall that 
served as a treasury. In the center of the floor was a 
great pile of gold and precious stones, while the walls 
round-about were hung with rich stuffs, mantles of 
costly feather-work, shields, arms and numerous orna- 
ments of gold and silver exquisitely worked. This hoard 
was the treasure left by Montezuma's grandfather, the 
Emperor Axayacatl. After inspecting the secret 
treasure-house, Cortez ordered the door to be sealed up 
and the discovery never to be mentioned. 

BULE OF THE VICEROYS 

Under the name of New Spain, Mexico was ruled from 
1521 to 1821 successively by five governors, two royal 
commissioners (audencias), and sixty- two viceroys, the 
last of whom, Juan 'Donoju, did not assume control. 

During the administration of the first viceroy Don 
Antonio de Medoza, who ruled from 1535 to 1550, dis- 
coveries were actively prosecuted in the north, the first 
money was coined in Mexico, the University of Mexico 
and several colleges were founded and the first press in 
the New World was introduced. The School of Mines, 
which is still standing and yearly graduating talented 
men, was founded by the viceroy, the Marquis of Branci- 
f orte. The construction was begun in 1797 and the build- 
ing was completed in 1813. Its total cost was over 
$1,600,000. 



CHAPTEEVII 
" THE SORROWFUL NIGHT " 

Among the dramatic episodes of Mexican history there 
is none more interesting than that of ' ' la Noche Triste ' ' 
or the Sorrowful Night when Cortez and his men evacu- 
ated the City of Mexico with their treasure, July 1, 1520. 
The following graphic description is given by Mr. Francis 
Augustus MacNutt, in his able work on ' ' Fernando Cor- 
tez and the Conquest of Mexico ": 

'* The decision to leave the city silently and as secretly 
as possible, under cover of night, having been agreed to 
by most of the captains, preparations for flight were at 
once undertaken. The accumulated treasure that had 
already cost such rivers of tears and blood was piled in 
a room of the palace and, the royal fifth being first care- 
fully separated, the remainder was divided amongst the 
officers and men according to the provisions already 
stipulated. The quantity, however, was so great that it 
was impossible to carry it away, and the men were cau- 
tioned against loading themselves down with heavy 
weights that might prove their destruction. The wiser 
among them chose pearls and precious stones, with only 
such a small quantity of gold as they could easily carry ; 
the more avaricious could not turn their .backs on the 
shining heap of metal, but weighted themselves until they 
could hardly move. The hour fixed for departing was 
midnight on the thirtieth of June. 

" To Gonzalo de Sandoval was assigned the vanguard, 
composed of two hundred foot-soldiers and twenty horse- 
men. They were charged with one of the most important 
duties of the march, namely, the laying down of the port- 

125 



126 '' THE SORROWFUL NIGHT " 

able bridge wherever the ditches in the causeway had 
not been filled in. This bridge was carried by four hun- 
dred Tlascalans, who were under the protection of fifty 
soldiers commanded by a captain, Magarino. Cortez 
took command of the centre division of his forces. Two 
hundred and fifty Tlascalans, protected by forty shield- 
bearers, dragged the artillery in this division, in which 
were the baggage, the treasure, the prisoners, and the 
women. The latter comprised Marina and two of Monte- 
zuma's daughters who were placed under a guard com- 
posed of thirty Spaniards and three hundred auxiliaries ; 
two sons of Montezuma, the young King of Texcoco, and 
a few others who had escaped the general execution that 
afternoon, were among the prisoners. The rear-guard 
was composed of the main body of infantry and most of 
the force of cavalry. 

LEFT THE SLEEPING CITY 

" The night was dark with a drizzling rain. Leaving 
fires lighted, the troop cautiously emerged at the hour 
of midnight into the deserted streets of the sleeping city, 
making its way as silently as possible along the street 
leading to the Tlacopan causeway. Magarino and his 
men had placed their bridge over the first ditch and the 
vanguard and artillery had passed safely over when, out 
of the darkness, was heard a cry of alarm that was 
quickly taken up by other Mexican sentinels, and in a 
moment the city was roused. The priests, keeping watch 
at the sacred fires on the teocalli, began to beat the sacred 
drum, whose lugubrious roll could be heard for miles. 
From all sides the Aztec warriors fell upon their escaping 
foes, the surface of the lake on both sides of the cause- 
way became alive with light canoes, darting hither and 
thither, from which volleys of arrows and sling stones 
were discharged into the now disordered mass of panic- 
stricken fugitives. The bridge, upon which their safety 
so greatly depended, was found to be wedged fast and 



'" THE SORROWFUL NIGHT " 127 

immovable after the passage of so many horses and heavy 
guns, while at the second ditch, the people in the fore 
were being driven into the water by the pressure of the 
oncoming multitude from behind. Terror banished dis- 
cipline and the retreat became a mad scramble for safety, 
in which each one thought only of himself. 

VICTIMS SEIZED FOR SACRIFICE 

'' The second ditch became quickly choked with guns, 
baggage, dead bodies of men and horses, over which the 
later comers sought to struggle to the opposite side. 
Cortez, leaving those of his own people who had managed 
to cross the second ditch, returned to the scene of con- 
fusion to lend what assistance he might to the rear-guard. 
Many of those who fell into the water met a more terrible 
fate than mere drowning, being seized by the Mexicans 
and carried off in their canoes to die on the stone of sacri- 
fice. The third ditch was still spanned by a single beam, 
over which some of the more agile of the first to reach 
it were able to cross, but the onrush from behind was 
too great and the attack of the enemy too fierce to allow 
many to profit by this narrow road to safety. The com- 
mander's voice, giving orders and seeking to calm his 
people, was lost in the uproar of battle, the shrieks of the 
drowning, and the wild shouts of the assailants; the 
scene of confusion at the second ditch repeated itself. It 
was at this ditch that Alvarado is alleged to have made 
his incredible leap, one of the exploits of the conquest 
so firmly rooted in three centuries of tradition and popu- 
lar folklore that no proof, however lucid, of its entirely 
apocryphal character will ever dislodge it. The last of 
the baggage and treasure was here abandoned, and the 
Mexicans allowed themselves to be diverted from further 
pursuit by their desire to collect the rich spoils. 

WHEN CORTEZ WEPT 

'' The dawn that broke after the Sorrowful Night found 
the remnant of the army at Popothal, a village situated 



128 '' THE SORROWFUL NIGHT " 

on the shore of the lake. And what a sad remnant! 
Forty-six liorses were dead, the artillery no longer 
existed, hardly a musket had been saved, the treasure 
was lost, all the prisoners had fallen and the few men 
who filed before the commander, as he sat on the steps 
of a temple with unaccustomed tears rolling down his 
cheeks, were soaked to the skin, destitute of arms, and 
so caked from head to foot with mud and the blood of 
their wounds, as to be scarcely recognizable. (The site 
is still pointed out and a venerable tree standing there 
is known as the Arbol de la Noche Triste, or ' Tree of the 
Sorrowful Night.') 

'' The actual number of the dead cannot be positively 
known, for the figures given by different writers are hope- 
lessly conflicting. Prescott, whose judgment it is safe 
to follow, adopted the estimate of Gomara, according to 
which four hundred and fifty Spaniards and four thou- 
sand of their Indian allies perished during the retreat. 
Cortez, in his letter to the Emperor, reduces these fig- 
ures to one hundred and fifty Spaniards and two thou- 
sand Indians, but his tendency throughout his reports 
was to minimize his losses. Oviedo, quoting Juan Cano, 
one of the gentlemen present, states that eleven hundred 
and seventy Spaniards and eight thousand Indians were 
killed and missing. Cano's estimate was made in Tlas- 
cala, and included all who fell during the whole of the 
retreat from Mexico until safety was reached inside the 
loyal republic, but his authority is questionable. He it 
was who invented the tale that two hundred and seventy 
men of the Spanish garrison, who were ignorant of the 
plan to march out of the city, were left behind in the 
quarters where, after surrendering to the Mexicans, they 
were all sacrificed. He does not explain how these men 
were kept in ignorance, while their comrades departed 
with the artillery, baggage, and all of the treasure they 
could carry. In Herrera's account of the plan to escape 
from Mexico by night, the historian records that Ojeda 




Loading maiines ou transport at Philadelphia 




Marines in New York Harbor en route to Mexican waters 




Detachment of the Fifteenth U. S. Cavalry at Fort Bliss, Tex. 




The same detachment in a practice drill 




The " Texas " at sea on her way to Mexico 




The '■ Texas " approaching Vera Cruz 



'' THE SOEEOWFUL NIGHT " 129 

was particularly charged by Cortez with the care of the 
wounded and to see that no one was left behind in the 
hurried preparations. 

*' The Spaniards who remained behind were either 
unwilling to relinquish the gold collected in the quarters 
or, failing to cross the first bridge, found themselves 
driven back by the crowd of Mexican warriors that cut 
them off from joining their comrades. The latter ex- 
planation seems the more probable. Herrera fixes their 
number at one hundred; Acosta mentions the fact but 
gives no figures. Those unfortunates managed to hold 
out for three days, at the end of which time they were 
forced by hunger to make terms with the Mexicans. 
Although there is nowhere an authentic record of their 
end, there is little doubt as to their fate. Deplorable as 
were the losses, the condition of those who survived the 
Sorrowful Night and reached Tacuba was hardly less 
discouraging, for so broken and exhausted were they that 
not even in defense of their lives did they seem able to 
raise a hand, while their horses could scarcely stand on 
their trembling legs, much less carry their riders." 

CHAEACTEB OP COETEZ. 

Few, if any, of the companions of Cortez understood 
him, says Mr. MacNutt. His admirers, who were ready 
to follow him anywhere, were attracted by the magnetism 
which, as a born leader, he exercised powerfully over just 
such men as they. He was their alter ego, in whom they 
beheld reflected their own daring aspirations, but united 
to powers of command as alien to their inferior abilities 
as they were necessary to the success of their wild under- 
takings. 

Cortez was indeed daring, but he was never rash. 

His seemingly spontaneous decisions were, in reality, 
the result of plans carefully formed, of cautious calcula- 
tions that seemed to take cognizance of every emergency, 
to forestall every risk. In the execution of his designs 



130 " THE SORROWFUL NIGHT '» 

he was relentless, lience the unmerited reputation for 
cruelty that has obscured his really kindly instincts and 
many generous deeds. Both his resolution and his per- 
severance were implacable, and those who did not will- 
ingly bend to his will were made to break. " Be my 
friend, or I kill you," not inaccurately describes his atti- 
tude to those who crossed his path. His equanimity was 
never disturbed by misfortune, and, as he sustained suc- 
cess without undue elation, so did he support reverses 
with fortitude; defeat might be a momentary check but 
was never accepted as final. Besides being compared with 
Julius Cesar as a general, he has been ranked with 
Augustus and Charles V. as a statesman, nor does he 
unduly suffer from such lofty comparisons, for he unques- 
tionably possessed many of the qualities essential to 
greatness, in common with them. He ruled his motley 
band with a happy mixture of genial comradeship and 
inflexible discipline and hence succeeded, where an excess 
of either the one or the other would have brought failure. 
He knew when and whom to trust and, though he was 
ready with his friendship, he avoided favoritism, with 
the consequence that his men were united by the bond of 
a common trust in their commander. 



CHAPTER VIII 
THE REVOLUTIONARY WARS 

The modern history of Mexico and the commencement 
of the almost continuous internecine wars may be said 
to date from the ' ' grito de Dolores ' ' on the night of the 
16th of September, 1810, by the parish priest of Dolores, 
Don Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla, who gathered about him 
many trusty followers under his banner to the cry of 
" Long live religion! Long live our Most Holy Mother 
of Guadalupe! Long live America, and death to bad 
government! *' This cry is what is known as '^ el grito 
de Dolores." 

Several efforts to cause rebellion against the Spanish 
authorities had been made previous to this date, in fact 
ever since 1798, during the incumbency of the forty-fifth 
viceroy, Miguel Jose de Azanza, but they were all 
suppressed. 

Hidalgo marshaled a considerable force and was vic- 
torious in several engagements, but he and his lieuten- 
ants, Allande, Aldama, and Jimenez, were captured and 
put to death in 1811, the first on the 31st of July and the 
three last named on June 26. The bullets that crashed 
through these patriotic breasts terminated the first stage 
of the war for independence. 

One of the greatest figures in Mexican history then 
came to the front, Jose Maria Morelos y Pavon, the par- 
ish priest of Caracuaro, who by his audacity, valor, and 
military sagacity was acceded a position at the head of 
the leaders of the cause of independence. After many 
notable engagements, in which he was almost always vic- 

131 



132 THE REVOLUTIONARY WARS 

torious, he captured Acapulco on April 12, 1813, thus 
ending his second campaign. On the 14th of September, 
1813, in the town of Chilpamcingo, the first Mexican 
Congress was installed, which two months later (Novem- 
ber 6) issued the declaration of independence and decreed 
the emancipation of the slaves. The first provisional 
constitution w^as adopted October 22, 1814. 

Morelos was eventually overcome by being betrayed by 
a deserter from his ranks named Carranco, was taken to 
Mexico, tried, and sentenced to be shot. The sentence 
was carried out at San Cristobal Ecatepec on the 22nd 
of December, 1815. 

FATE OF PATRIOTIC CHIEFTAINS 

But the cause of independence was still sustained by 
many leaders in different parts of the Republic, among 
them being Francisco Javier Mina, a Spanish officer, who 
resolved to do battle for the independence of Mexico. 
He disembarked at the port of Soto la Marina on April 
15, 1817, with 500 men recruited in the United States, and 
marched rapidly into the interior, gaining many victories. 
He was apprehended at the ranch called Venadito, and 
was shot on the 11th of November, 1817. Many other 
patriotic chiefs arose to lead the independent movement, 
but most of them met the fate of their predecessors. 
Among these was Guerrero, who, after many hazardous 
exploits and brilliant achievements, finally, on the 10th 
of January, 1821, held a conference with Augustin Itur- 
bide, brigadier-general in command of the royalist forces, 
at Iturbide's request and the two leaders agreed to pro- 
claim independence. The latter proclaimed what is known 
as '* The Plan of Iguala " on February 24, 1821. 

Iturbide, then assuming command of the forces, 
marched on Mexico, making Valladolid (now Morelia), 
Queretaro, and Puebla, capitulate on the way. On reach- 
ing Mexico the Viceroy Apodaca was deposed July 5, 
1821. 



THE REVOLUTIONARY WARS 133 

LAST OF THE VICEEOYS. 

The sixty-second and last viceroy, Juan O'Donoju, 
arrived at Vera Cruz on the 30th of July, and, upon hear- 
ing of the condition of affairs, issued a proclamation and 
entered into communication with the independents. 
Iturbide went to Cordoba, where a conference was held, 
resulting in the treaty of Cordoba, which, with slight 
modifications, confirmed the plan of Iguala and Spanish 
domination in Mexico, which had lasted 300 years, closed 
forever when, on the 27th of September, 1821, Iturbide 
made his triumphal entry into the capital. 

ITURBIDE AS EMPEROR 

The second Mexican Congress, the first after securing 
independence, met on February 24, 1822, and elected 
Iturbide emperor on the 19th of May of the same year. 
He was crowned and anointed with great pomp and cere- 
mony in the great cathedral of the capital on the 21st 
of June following as Augustine I., Emperor of Mexico. 
His reign was short. The people who had been warring 
so long could not settle down to peaceful pursuits. Am- 
bitious leaders thirsted for high places, and the smoke 
of the battles for independence had scarce lifted before 
General Santa Anna headed a revolutionary movement 
in Vera Cruz, proclaimed a republican form of govern- 
ment and compelled Iturbide to abdicate and leave the 
country. He became desirous to revisit it, and returning 
to Mexico, was arrested immediately upon disembarking, 
taken to Padilla, brought before the legislature of Tamau- 
lipas in session there, and by that body condemned to 
death. He was shot July 19th, 1824, just five days after 
landing. 

RISE OP THE REPUBLIC 

The Federal Republic was established on the ruins of 
the Empire. The third Mexican Congress assembled 
November 7, 1823, and proclaimed on October 4, 1824, a 
republican constitution, which was patterned closely upon 



134 THE REVOLUTIONARY WARS 

that of the United States. The first president of Mexico, 
the patriot General Guadalupe Victoria, took the oath 
of office on October 10. Congress was dissolved Decem- 
ber 24, 1824, and the first constitutional Congress con- 
vened January 1, 1825. During this year England and 
the United States formally recognized Mexico. 

Independence being secured, two parties came into 
existence: The Spanish, which became the Centralists, 
and the Republicans, who became Federalists. To this 
division is due the constant internal disturbances and 
agitations in Mexico from 1828 to 1846. During this 
period five radical organic changes swayed the people 
between centralism and federation. 

The two parties succeeded each other in power, mostly 
through revolutions, until 1847, when the war with the 
United States, which had commenced the year previous, 
ended and the latter nation acquired more than two-fifths 
of the Mexican territory. After the declaration of peace 
between the two countries the Mexican Liberal party 
remained in power (except from 1853 to 1855, when Gen- 
eral Santa Anna governed as dictator), carrying out its 
theories of government. In the year 1857 the constitu- 
tion now in force in Mexico was framed by a constitu- 
tional assembly. 

THE EKA OF MAXIMILIAN" 

In 1861 England, Spain, and France formed an alliance 
to declare war against Mexico, but the alliance had been 
scarcely perfected when the two first-named powers with- 
drew and France was left alone in the enterprise. War 
between the two nations lasted from 1862 until 1867 with- 
out the French gaining any decided foothold. 

Possessing themselves finally of the capital, they estab- 
lished an empire, aided by a number of disaffected Mex- 
icans, and placed the crown upon Maximilian of Haps- 
burg. Archduke of Austria. 

The archduke arrived in the City of Mexico on June 



THE REVOLUTIONAEY WAES 135 

12, 1864, accompanied by his wife, Carlotta, daughter of 
Leopold I., king of the Belgians. These two unfortunate 
beings were crowned emperor and empress of Mexico 
with great solemnity in the cathedral and ruled a portion 
of the country until 1867, when the perfidy of Bazaine and 
the cowardice of Napoleon III. destroyed the life of Maxi- 
milian and the reason of Carlotta. 

Maximilian, bereft of the aid and protection of the 
French, intrenched himself in Queretaro, where he was 
made prisoner by the Republicans and shot, together with 
the Imperialist Generals Miralon and Mexia, on the Cerro 
de las Campanas, on the 19th of June, 1867. 

Benito Juarez, of Indian birth, and possessed of great 
ability, patriotism, and energy, was the president of the 
Republic during the turbulent times of the reformation 
and the war with France. He entered the capital vic- 
torious on the 15th of July, 1867, and retained the presi- 
dency until his death in 1872, being the only Mexican 
who died during the occupancy of that office. His imme- 
diate successor was Sebastian Lerdo de Tejada, who re- 
tained the office until 1876, when he was unseated by the 
revolution of Palo Blanco. General Porfirio Diaz suc- 
ceeded Lerdo de Tejada in May, 1877, and was followed 
by General Manuel Gonzalez in 1880. In 1884 General 
Diaz was elected to a second term, and was continued at 
the head of the government until 1910. His administra- 
tion was attended with great progress and prosperity. 



CHAPTER IX 
JUAREZ, THE INDIAN PRESIDENT 

Benito Juarez stood out conspicuously in the history 
of Mexico as a thoroughly honest and incorruptible man. 
He was thus placed in striking contrast with the repre- 
sentatives of some of the European nations with whom 
he was called upon to treat in 1862, says Mr. Arthur 
Howard Noll in his story of the struggle for constitu- 
tional government in Mexico. 

Not the least difficult of the tasks which confronted 
Juarez in his public career, and in his efforts to estab- 
lish constitutional government, was that of maintaining 
a high standard of morality in his administration. The 
public men of Mexico, who had been trained in the old 
Spanish school of politics, or in the later school of Santa 
Anna, were accustomed to no such distinctions between 
right and wrong as the new constitution presupposed or 
as Juarez in his government made. They were incapable 
of appreciating the nice distinctions between honesty and 
fraud being constantly made by their Indian president. 

Juarez was a patriot. Love of country, and the desire 
to set her far forward toward the realization of the des- 
tiny which he felt to be hers by nature and by the will 
of Providence, actuated his whole life and engaged all 
his energies of body and mind. It took strange forms 
sometimes — as, for example, at the breaking out of the 
war with the Interventionists, when he refused all offers 
of foreign troops for his army, declaring that he would 
invite no foreigner to shoot down men who, though in 

136 



JUAREZ, THE INDIAN PRESIDENT 137 

rebellion against Mexico, were yet citizens of that nation. 
Simple in his tastes, not personally ambitious, depre- 
cating pomp or display, Benito Juarez gave his life to 
the effort to set law above force in Mexico, and served 
his country in honorable poverty in the chief magistracy 
for thirteen years, the greater part of the time an exile 
from his capital. 

JUAEEZ ELECTED PKESIDENT 

In August, 1867, Juarez called for a general election 
for members of Congress and for president. The election 
was to determine the propriety of his action in continuing 
in the presidency in Paso del Norte after the expiration 
of his former term of office. He was elected over Sebas- 
tion Lerdo de Tejada and Porfirio Diaz, and his action 
at Paso del Norte was thereby fully sustained. He began 
a new constitutional term in the presidency, upon his 
installation in that office in December. 

It might seem that the country had now had its fill of 
revolutions and pronunciamentos, and was ready to co- 
operate with the president in an effort to maintain peace 
and constitutional government. But the administration 
of Juarez was much disturbed by revolutiojiary attempts 
made by those who were still under the spell of the ancient 
Spanish methods of ** practical politics." Santa Anna 
entered the Republic with no very honorable intentions, 
we may be sure. He was taken prisoner and sentenced 
to be shot, but was allowed to escape, and returned to 
the place of his former exile. Probably the measure by 
which Juarez himself would have preferred that his 
administration of the government from 1867 to 1871 
should be best known was his decree of general amnesty. 
Under its provisions, even Santa Anna was enabled to 
return to Mexico and spend the remainder of his days 
at the capital. 



138 JUAEEZ, THE INDIAN PRESIDENT 

JUAKEZ RE-ELECTED 

As the electoral campaign of 1871 approached, Juarez 
was advised by many of his best friends to decline a 
re-election. They urged that, inestimable as was the 
value of the services he had rendered in securing the 
constitution and in maintaining the government of Mex- 
ico thereunder during the period of stress and storm 
from 1861 to 1867, he was not a pronounced success in 
the administration of the presidency. His pre-eminent 
quality — adherence to a great principle in the face of 
opposition — did not especially fit him for the task of 
building upon the foundation he had laid. He was blind. 
to the actual needs of the nation, it was said. His mind 
was giving way, some alleged — and such might have 
been the case in one who had passed through all that 
he had suffered. He remained, however, firm in the 
belief that his presence in the administration was neces- 
sary for the continuance of the effort to maintain good 
government in Mexico, and prevent a suspension of the 
constitution which had been established at so much cost. 
He therefore entered as a candidate against the same 
opponents as four years previously. The contest was an 
exciting one, and his election was extremely close. Con- 
gress met on the sixteenth of September, and it was not 
until the twelfth of October that Juarez was officially 
declared elected by the vote of a plurality of the states. 
Pronunciamentos followed, but Juarez, with indomitable 
energy, confronted every attempt to overthrow the con- 
stitution and return to the former methods of governing 
the country by force. 

DEATH OF JUAEEZ 

On the seventeenth day of July, 1872, he who had 
never before known more than a day's sickness, was 



JUAEEZ, THE INDIAN PRESIDENT 139 

taken suddenly ill with heart disease. Near midnight 
on the eighteenth he died. Two days later the body was 
taken to the national palace, where it lay in state, under 
guard of government officials, and was visited by throngs 
of Mexicans of all classes. On the twenty-second it was 
borne through the streets of the capital, followed by five 
thousand people, and laid to rest in the Panteon of San 
Fernando. There, over the dust of Benito Juarez, now 
rests an exquisitely sculptured marble group represent- 
ing the grief of Mexico over the death of her great 
national hero. Thither, on the eighteenth of July every 
year, lovers of constitutional government go to rehearse 
the story of his noble and devoted life, and of how through 
his eif orts the constitution of Mexico came into being. 

*' THE MAN" IN" THE BLACK COAT " 

Benito Juarez was short of stature, but of powerful 
frame, like most of the Zapotecans, and had small hands 
and feet. His was a ** very dark complexioned Indian 
face, which was not disfigured, but on the contrary made 
more interesting, by a very large scar across it. He had 
black piercing eyes, and gave the impression of a man 
reflecting much and deliberating long and carefully before 
acting." His dress was that of the Mexican student or 
professional man — plain black broadcloth, unrelieved 
by any official or military insignia. This placed him in 
such striking contrast with the brilliant dress affected 
by other Mexican officials, who were, almost to a man, 
military officers, and with the foreign diplomats with 
whom he came in contact, that he was known in semi- 
diplomatic language as " The President in the Black 
Coat." While other public men in Mexico had military 
titles, he preferred to be known simply as Ciudadano — 
Citizen. 

They were greatly mistaken who supposed him defi- 



140 JUAREZ, THE INDIAN PRESIDENT 

cient in mental acquirements. He was able to write 
French with ease; and could read English, though he 
never attempted to speak it. He was well read in consti- 
tutional law. History was his favorite study. He re- 
ceived the degree of doctor of civil law from his alma 
mater, and the honor was worthily conferred. His state 
papers were models of clearness and exact style. 



CHAPTER X 
THE CONSTITUTIONAL STRUGGLE 

In seeking independence the Spanish colonies in 
America were moved by the democratic doctrines of 
France and by the example of the United States. Their 
long submission to Spanish rule, however, had given rise 
to traditions which tended to keep them loyal to 
monarchy. But when Ferdinand VII. fell into the hands 
of Napoleon the bond of attachment to Spain was weak- 
ened and signs of revolt appeared. The open struggle 
for independence, which began in 1810 and lasted with 
occasional interruptions till 1824, stands in marked con- 
trast with the efforts of the English colonies. It had 
many characteristics of a civil war, on account of the 
large number of those who advocated continued depend- 
ence on Spain, while the more complete unity of purpose 
in the English colonies gave their war for independence 
the character of a struggle against a foreign enemy. 

An early suggestion of a national representative gov- 
ernment for Mexico appeared in the proposition made 
by the ayuntamiento (city council) of the City of 
Mexico to the viceroy that he should call a national assem- 
bly composed of representatives of the provinces. The 
proposition was favored by the viceroy, but was opposed 
by the audencia, who represented the spirit of Spanish 
possession and dominion. The higher clergy, moreover, 
as holders of great power, opposed all attempts at inde- 
pendence, while the lower clergy, to which Miguel Hidalgo 
Costilla belonged, became the earliest champions of the 
movement. 

141 



142 THE CONSTITUTIONAL STEUGGLE 

THE ** GOVERNMENTAL COUNCIL " 

After the overthrow of Hidalgo's forces and the cap- 
ture of the leader it became evident to the patriots that 
they ought to be represented by some formally consti- 
tuted government. An assembly, composed principally 
of officers of the army, was therefore convened. In ac- 
cordance with its decree a governmental council was 
established, consisting at first of three members and later 
of five, whose collective title was the ' ' Supreme Govern- 
mental Council of America." 

In the exercise of their new authority they cited the 
military officers, the governors, and alcaldes of the Indian 
pueblos of the vicinity to take the oath of obedience and 
fidelity to the council, which governed in the name of 
King Ferdinand VII. 

The use of the king's name was clearly an act of policy, 
through which the council hoped to gain forces at the 
expense of the enemy, and to turn to the cause of free- 
dom those who desired independence, but who halted at 
the idea of fighting against the king. 

The attempt on the part of the council to make an agree- 
ment with the viceroy only led him to reject with indig- 
nation the project of an independent power in Mexico. 
Strictly speaking, the council was an illegal body, deriv- 
ing authority neither from a popular election nor from 
any existing legitimate source. It was feared, however, 
by the Spanish party that it might gain recognition and 
exercise the functions of a legitimate government. A 
price was therefore set on the head of each member, but 
its subsequent dissolution was due rather to internal dis- 
sension than to external attack. 

THE FIRST CONGRESS 

On the first of September, 1813, a Congress constituted 
by popular election was assembled in Chipancingo. This 
body proclaimed anew the independence of Mexico, and 



THE CONSTITUTIONAL STRUGGLE 143 

agreed upon a republican constitution, whicli was pub- 
lished in Apanzingan in October, 1814. This constitution 
was also short-lived, being set aside by the adoption of 
the Spanish constitution of 1812 in so far as it was 
applicable to Mexico. 

Between 1815 and 1820 Mexico was little disturbed by 
military operations, but finally the cause of independence 
was revived, and on the 24th of February, 1820, the plan 
of Iguala was published. By this instrument an inde- 
pendent limited monarchy was erected in Mexico, and 
the throne was to be offered to Ferdinand VII., and in 
case of his refusal to other princes designated. The 
Roman Catholic faith was declared to be the sole religion 
of the state, and the equality of all social classes was 
proclaimed. The plan of Iguala, a compromise between 
political independence and religious intolerance, found 
very general favor; even the new viceroy, O'Donoju, 
accepted it with only slight modifications, and recognized 
the new Imperio Mejicano. A provisional governmental 
council was then formed, which was charged with the 
legislative authority until the Cortes should be installed. 
The executive power was temporarily intrusted to a 
regency of three persons, who should exercise it till the 
accession of the prince. 

In carrying out the provisions of the plan of Iguala, 
as modified by the agreement at Cordova between 
'Dono ju and Iturbide, it was discovered that the scheme 
was not approved by either the king or the Cortes of 
Spain, and that in Mexico itself there were many repub- 
licans dissatisfied with it. 

ITUEBIDE PKOCLAIMED EMPBEOR 

In this condition of affairs Iturbide, supported by a 
portion of the army, was proclaimed emperor. But his 
conduct in his temporary use of power only increased 
the opposition which he had encountered in the begin- 
ning, and, finding it impossible to maintain an independ- 



144 THE CONSTITUTIONAL STRUGGLE 

ent imperial government in Mexico, he abdicated and 
went into exile. 

The Congress, taking advantage of the departure of 
Iturbide, declared that his administration had been a rule 
of force and not of right, and that all of his acts were 
illegal and subject to revision. It then placed the execu- 
tive power in the hands of a triumvirate composed of 
Negrete, Bravo, and Victoria, representing the Spanish, 
the monarchical, and the republican parties. 

THE CONSTITUTION OF 1824 

A new Congress was installed on the 7th of November, 

1823, and on the 3rd of December it began the discussion 
of a project for a fundamental law, which was approved 
January 31, 1824, and *' in thirty-six articles contained 
the basis of the future political constitution." Through 
the adoption of this constitution the nation acquired a 
popular representative, federal, republican government. 
But this was only a provisional government, and was set 
aside on the adoption of the definitive constitution of 

1824, which in many particulars was a copy of the consti- 
tution of the United States. 

FUNDAMENTAL LAW OF 1836 

The constitution of 1824 remained in force eleven years, 
but during these years Mexico was not without internal 
disturbances, and in 1833, by a revolution, General An- 
tonio Lopez de Santa Anna was made president. After 
a temporary retirement a reactionary movement restored 
him to power in 1834. Having allied himself with the 
Clericals and Centralists, he dissolved the Congress on 
the 31st of May, set aside the liberal decrees which that 
body had passed, made the vice-president, Gomez Farias, 
resign, and broke openly with the Federalists. The new 
Congress, which was installed in January, 1835, under- 
took to reform the constitution of 1824, and in 1836 a 
new fundamental law was issued, which rejected the fed- 
eral principle and established a centralized government, 




_bJD 





a 




Inspecting the bluejackets on the "Texas"' just before sailing- 




Shore leave detail from the battleship "New York^ 




Machine gun platoon of United States Regulars at El Paso, Tex. 







Machine gun in readiness for action 



THE CONSTITUTIONAL STRUGGLE 145 

the whole territory of the Republic being divided into 
departments instead of the pre-existing states, the depart- 
ments into districts, and these again into partidos. By 
thus enlarging the functions of the central government, 
the grounds of party separation were made more con- 
spicuous. Every adherent of federalism became an oppo- 
nent of the new order of things, and in the next decade 
Mexico was without an effective constitution. Power 
rested with the most successful military leader. In 1847, 
however, the Congress passed an act which brought into 
force again the constitution of 1824 with certain amend- 
ments. 

A MILITAEY '* PLAN" " 

Without attempting to note the numerous * * pronuncia- 
mentos " made and the ^' bases " promulgated, attention 
may be called to the ' * plan ' ' promulgated by the garri- 
son of Ayutla. According to this plan Santa Anna was 
to be deprived of the power which he exercised arbi- 
trarily, an ad interim president was to be appointed, and 
a constitutional convention convened. The garrison of 
Acapulco seconded this plan with slight modifications, 
and Ignacio Comonf ort became the leader of the new rev- 
olution. On the 8th of August, 1855, Santa Anna left 
the presidency, and a few days later went into exile. On 
the 13th of the same month the garrison of the capital 
also adopted the plan of Ayutla. The 4th of October 
General Alvarez was elected ad interim president, and 
in February, 1856, the constituent Congress, or constitu- 
tional convention, was assembled. Comonfort, who had 
become president on the resignation of Alvarez, now 
issued, in accordance with authority conferred upon him 
by the plan of Ayutla and Acapulco, an ^' Estatuto or- 
ganico provisional de la Republica Mejicana." The 
estatuto was a quasi-constitution, in 125 articles, which 
organized completely the executive and judicial powers 
in accordance with the principles of centralism, and which 



146 THE CONSTITUTIONAL STRUGGLE 

detailed with much method and in liberal sense the civil 
and political rights of the Mexicans; but which oblit- 
erated all this, as with one dash of the pen, by Article 82, 
conceived as follows: " The President of the Eepublic 
shall be able to act discretionally, when, in the judgment 
of the council of ministers, this shall be necessary in 
order to defend the independence or the integrity of the 
territory, or to maintain the established order, or to pre- 
serve the public tranquility: but in no case shall he be 
able to impose the penalty of death, nor those penalties 
prohibited by Article 55." 

THE CONSTITUTION OF 1857 

The new constitution, which was formulated in the 
meantime by the constitutional Congress, was finally 
adopted on the 5th of February, 1857. But this consti- 
tution, by abolishing the ecclesiastical and military priv- 
ileges, excited vigorous opposition. As a result of this 
opposition, the nation found itself, in 1858, in civil war, 
with Benito Juarez as leader of the Constitutional party, 
while General Zuloaga, and later General Miramon, led 
the Revolutionary forces and took possession of the cap- 
ital. Juarez, in accordance with Article 29 of the consti- 
tution, received extraordinary powers to suspend the 
individual guarantees recognized by this law. During 
the same year, 1861, the Revolutionary party entered into 
certain foreign alliances against the Constitutional party, 
led by Juarez, and from these alliances proceeded the 
series of events which constitute the imperial episode of 
Maximilian's reign. While Maximilian, backed by the 
power of France, was attempting to establish an imperial 
government in Mexico, the forces of the Constitutional- 
ists were scattered on the frontiers. Three months after 
the withdrawal of the French troops, in obedience to the 
demands of the United States, the Imperialists were 
undone, Maximilian, Miramon, and Mejia had been shot. 



THE CONSTITUTIONAL STRUGGLE 147 

and the way was once more open to the Constitutionalists. 
The constitution of 1857 became again effective funda- 
mental law of the land, and, with a number of subsequent 
amendments, has continued in force to the present time. 

AN" OPTIMISTIC VIEW 

After the retirement of General Diaz in 1910 and the 
assumption of power by President Madero, the optimistic 
business men of Mexico looked forward with great con- 
fidence to the future. One well-known writer expressed 
their views as follows : 

' ' New times and manners have come to Mexico. New 
figures of national importance have stepped upon the 
stage to direct the destinies of the land which the clear- 
headed, unenthusiastic scientist, von Humboldt, called 
* The Treasure House of the World.' 

" New policies and processes of government have been 
inaugurated; although new to Mexico, they have stood 
the test of practice in the other great republics. By this 
proved standard they may be depended upon to impart 
fresh vigor and irresistible impetus to the progress and 
development of Mexico. 

** The events which prefaced the administrative 
changes in Mexico were revolutionary. History records 
few important steps in the advancement of any nation 
which were not conceived and born in revolution. 
Instances are far less common wherein righteous and 
successful revolutions have not purified the national life- 
streams and made for political, social and economic well- 
being. 

'' Mexico was at peace for thirty-five years. Neither 
foreign wars nor domestic turmoil had disturbed her 
tranquility and interrupted the wonderful material 
development fostered by the establishment and inflexible 
maintenance of law and order. 

** This gave her unique distinction among the nations. 
3^ile Mexico's sword was sheathed, the United States, 



148 THE CONSTITUTIONAL STRUGGLE | 

England, France, Germany, Eussia, China, Japan and 
Spain, wasted billions of gold and sacrificed thousands 
of lives in wars. 

** A hundred-fold more men and money than the revolu- 
tion in Mexico cost, were expended by the United States 
since 1876 in Indian wars alone. 

*' What has occurred in Mexico was an anti-climax. 
Like most contingencies which are viewed in anticipation 
with profound apprehension, the prospect of the passing 
of the old regime in Mexico and the commencement of 
the new, when it became a reality, presented itself in far 
less ominous guise than it assumed when it was merely a 
vague, much debated possibility. 

*' It was an anti-climax because it came prematurely 
and unexpectedly. So swift was the march of events in 
the six months which compassed the duration of the 
revolution that the country was spared most of the pros- 
tration and disorganization that come with armed 
political movements. 

" When the transfer of authority came, the vital ele- 
ments of the government were substantially unimpaired. 
The federal treasury was intact; the cash reserves had 
not been drained to finance a long and costly war ; busi- 
ness was interfered with but slightly; the country had 
not been stripped of able-bodied men; the lines of com- 
munication had been interrupted, but not destroyed, or 
even seriously damaged; the national credit continued 
high; federal revenues had fallen off to a surprisingly 
small extent, and the damage to public and private prop- 
erty in the cities and towns of consequence was limited. 

** In the foreign money markets confidence in the 
national stability of Mexico and in her possession of 
inherent vital power to survive political shocks that 
would cripple a less wealthy, resourceful country, was 
shown in impressive fashion. 

* * The public funds and many of her standard railway, 
banking and industrial securities were not seriously 



THE CONSTITUTIONAL STRUGGLE 149 

affected, and in a majority of cases either maintained 
their price, or were given higher quotations. A month 
after peace was declared London was buying National 
Railway securities at from $2.25 to $2.50 higher than the 
prices quoted before the revolution. 

" In every fibre of her being Mexico, in 1911, is a 
thousand times stronger and better buttressed to main- 
tain and enhance her financial, political and industrial 
respectability and place than she was in 1876, when 
Porfirio Diaz came to government. Now she has every- 
thing with which to do. Then she had virtually nothing, 
save her inexhaustible natural resources, which were 
sparsely developed. 

" Thirty-five years of peace and prosperity have sped 
her too far along the road of progress to warrant fair- 
minded, competent critics in assuming that she will retro- 
grade, or that her affairs will not be patriotically, com- 
petently and profitably administered. Mexico will press 
on." 



CHAPTER XI 
MEXICO UNDER DIAZ 

In an election under the Constitution of 1857, held in 
1871, four years after the City of Mexico had surren- 
dered to General Diaz after the execution of the Emperor 
Maximilian, the opposing candidates were the then 
President Benito Juarez, Lerdo de Tejada, and Porfirio 
Diaz. Juarez was elected December 1, 1871, and took 
his seat for the third time, the result of which was a 
slight revolution, occurring in various parts of the coun- 
try. These were headed by Porfirio Diaz on his hacienda 
of La Noria, in Oaxaca. A manifesto was issued propos- 
ing a convention and assembly of notables, to reorganize 
a government with Diaz as commander-in-chief of the 
army, until the establishment of such government. The 
movement was interrupted by the death of Juarez and 
the succession of the president of the Supreme Court, 
Lerdo de Tejada. The administration of Lerdo was 
peaceful, and he was elected president December 1, 1872, 
continuing in office for three years, during which time 
the railroad between Vera Cruz and the City of Mexico, 
called the Mexican Railway, was opened on January 1, 
1873. 

DIAZ PROCLAIMED PRESIDENT 

Another revolution occurred in Oaxaca, January 15, 
1876, and once more the country was in the midst of a 
strife. Lerdo was forced to leave the country, and Gen- 
eral Diaz entered the City of Mexico November 24, 1876, 
and was proclaimed president ; on the 6th of May, 1877, 
he was declared constitutional president, in which office 
he remained until November 30, 1880, during which time 

ISO 



MEXICO UNDER DIAZ 151 

he put down small revolutions and executed nine revolu- 
tionists on June 24, 1879. 

On the 25th of September, 1880, Congress elected Gen- 
eral Manuel Gonzales president. During the administra- 
tion of General Gonzales the celebrated Nickel riots of 
1883 occurred, the common people refusing to accept 
nickel coin in the place of silver and copper, entailing 
on them considerable loss. The national debt of Mexico 
was also greatly increased, and his administration was 
practically a financial failure. 

General Diaz was again elected president and took the 
oath of office December 1, 1884, and at each recurring 
election to 1910 succeeded himself. 

A MAN" OF ACTION 

On taking the office in 1884, says the noted authority 
on Mexico, Mr. Reau Campbell, Diaz found an absolutely 
empty treasury and a country without credit. It was a 
condition and not a theory that confronted Diaz — a con- 
dition that theories alone could not ameliorate. Urgent 
and immediate action was the only remedy for the deplor- 
able state of the country. General Diaz was the man of 
action, man of the hour, and delayed not till the morrow. 
To perceive a need, with him, was to act at once, and to 
promote the prosperity and peace of his country was his 
only aim. The railroads and the telegraphs had only 
been proposed; the commerce of the country was in a 
state of lethargy. Diaz' quick, restless, active disposi- 
tion called it to life, and his liberal, wise and efficient 
administration of the government made it possible to 
complete the enterprises of communication and com- 
merce, and it so promoted the internal improvements in 
every direction that his own acts have placed President 
Diaz among the foremost statesmen of the world. 

A patriotic Mexican writer says : ** With the restless, 
inconstant character of our race, the long tenure of office 
by one man is one of the greatest dangers of the peace 



152 MEXICO UNDER DIAZ 

of tlie nation. Yet, notwithstanding, General Diaz has 
succeeded in avoiding shipwreck on this shoal, making 
himself all but indispensable to the completion of the 
reconstructive and conciliatory work of which he is the 
true and only author. The work of pacification accom- 
plished by General Diaz has consisted in the strengthen- 
ing of the central power, and the discreet use of his 
personal prestige and influence for the purpose of secur- 
ing in all the states of the Mexican Union the election 
of governors attached to him personally, and resolved to 
second him at any cost in the task of assuring to the 
country the supreme benefit of peace, as the most im- 
perious necessity of the Mexican people. The patriotic 
conviction of the urgency, for a nation bleeding and weak- 
ened as ours has been, of a convalescent political regime 
to enable us to recuperate our shattered strength, has 
facilitated the insensible and voluntary creation of a 
system of governmental discipline wherein the federated 
units, like the wheels of an immense machine, receive 
without shock the impulse of force which is conveyed to 
them from the great central motor. ' ' 

Even the Encyclopedia Britannica pays its tribute of 
respect to Diaz, when it says : 

'* His term of office marks a prominent change in the 
history of Mexico; from that date he at once forged 
ahead with financial and political reform, the scrupulous 
settlement of all national debts, the welding together of 
the peoples and tribes (there are 150 different Indian 
tribes) of his country, the establishment of railroads and 
telegraphs, and all this in a land which had been upheaved 
for a century with revolutions and bloodshed, and which 
had fifty-two dictators, presidents, and rulers in fifty- 
nine years.'* 



CHAPTER Xn 
GOVERNMENT AND CONSTITUTION 

The government of the Republic of Mexico is repre- 
sentative, democratic and federal. The seat of the 
supreme power of the federation is the capital of the 
republic, which is also the capital of the federal district. 
The supreme federal power is divided into three branches, 
legislative, executive and judicial. 

The legislative power is lodged in the general congress, 
which is divided into two bodies, the senate and the cham- 
ber of deputies. The members of the chamber of deputies 
are elected by popular vote of the Mexican citizen every 
two years, one deputy for each 40,000 inhabitants. The 
senate is composed of two senators from each state and 
the federal district. Senators are elected indirectly, 
half of the body being renewed every two years. The 
salary of deputies and senators is $3,000 a year. Congress 
has two regular sessions every year, the first commencing 
on the 16th of September (the national holiday) and end- 
ing on the 15th of December. It may be extended thirty 
days longer. The business of this session is the general 
regulation and conduct of the federal government. The 
second session begins April 1 and ends May 31, but may 
be prolonged fifteen days. Its business primarily is 
auditing the accounts of the previous fiscal year and mak- 
ing appropriations for the fiscal year to come. 

The executive power is vested in the *' President of the 
United Mexican States." He is elected by electors 
chosen by popular vote every four years. He is 
inaugurated and enters upon his administration on the 

153 



154 GOVERNMENT AND CONSTITUTION 

1st of December. In the discharge of his high duties the 
president is assisted by seven secretaries or ministers, 
whom he may appoint and remove at will. The secre- 
taries are : Of foreign affairs, of home affairs, of justice 
and public instruction, of colonization, industry and com- 
merce, of the treasury and public credit, of war and the 
navy, and of communication and public works. All of 
these secretaries authenticate with their signatures the 
regulations, proclamations, and decrees of the president, 
and have charge of the several departments of the gov- 
ernment designated by their respective titles. The salary 
of the president is $30,000 a year and of the secretaries 
$8,000. 

The judicial power is lodged in the supreme court of 
justice and in the district and circuit courts. The 
supreme court consists of one chief justice, eleven asso- 
ciate justices, four alternate justices, an attorney-general, 
and a public prosecutor. These several officers are 
chosen by indirect popular vote and their term of office 
is six years. Formerly in the event of a vacancy 
occurring in the presidency by reason of death or cause 
other than limitation, the duties of the president devolved 
upon the chief justice. By amendment to the constitution. 
Congress, on October 3, 1882, vested the presidential 
succession in the president and vice-president of the 
senate and the chairman of the standing committee of 
Congress successively. The same amendment prescribes 
that these functionaries must be native-born citizens of 
Mexico. 

The jurisdiction of the federal courts extends to all 
cases arising (1) from laws or acts of any authority 
infringing on individual rights; (2) from laws or acts of 
the federal authority violating or limiting the sover- 
eignty of the states, and (3) from laws or acts, the latter 
eignty of the states, and (3) from laws or acts of the latter 
made from the district courts to the supreme court of 
justice. 



GOVERNMENT AND CONSTITUTION 155 

The political organization of the states is similar to 
that of the general government. 

REVENUES 

The federal government is sustained by import duties, 
the stamp tax, internal revenue taxes, and by the " fed- 
eral contribution," which is an additional duty levied on 
all taxes collected by the states. There are other sources 
of revenue, such as export duties, mint duties, and the 
taxes on nationalized property. 

The governments of the states were sustained by excise 
duties levied on all foreign and domestic merchandis'e, 
and by certain direct taxes, but the system of state taxa- 
tion has recently been reorganized, so as to abolish the 
taxation of imported merchandise. 

The city governments are sustained by direct taxes, 
and in some cases they receive besides a percentage of 
the duties collected by the state. 

THE CONSTITUTION" 

The present constitution of Mexico was adopted Feb- 
ruary 5, 1857. By virtue of this instrument the Republic 
is formed of states, free and sovereign, so far as regards 
their internal affairs, united under a federal government. 
The population necessary to entitle a territory to state- 
hood is 120,000 inhabitants at least. The national power 
resides primarily and exclusively in the people, from 
whom all public authority emanates and by whom it is 
exercised through the channels of the state and national 
governments, with the reservation, so far as state author- 
ity is concerned, that state laws shall not conflict with 
those of the nation. 

All persons born on the soil are free, and slaves become 
free by entering the Republic. Freedom of education, 
freedom to exercise the liberal professions, freedom of 
thought and the inviolable freedom of the press are guar- 
anteed — this last with the restriction that private rights 
and the public peace shall not be violated. 



156 GOVERNMENT AND CONSTITUTION 

No person can be obliged to work against liis will or 
without proper compensation. 

The rights of petition and lawful association are 
recognized. 

The right to carry arms for lawful self -protection and 
defense, and to freely enter, and leave, and travel over 
the Republic without passport is guaranteed. 

Titles of nobility, hereditary honors, and prerogatives 
are not recognized, neither are the judgments of privi- 
leged tribunals. 

Ex post facto laws and the concluding of treaties for 
the extradition of political offenders and the search with- 
out warrant of the competent authority are all prohibited. 

Imprisonment for debt of a purely civil nature is 
abolished. 

Arrest is prohibited except for offenses meriting cor- 
poral punishment, as is also detention without trial for 
a longer period than three days. The rights of accused 
persons are guaranteed. The application of penalties, 
other than those purely correctional is limited exclusively 
to judicial authority. Whipping, branding, mutilation, 
torture, or other infamous punishment is prohibited. The 
death penalty is limited to high treason, highway robbery, 
arson, paricide, and willful murder. 

In criminal actions three appeals only are permitted. 
A second trial after acquittal on the same charge is 
prohibited. 

The inviolability of private correspondence as well as 
the right of private property is recognized. In case of 
condemnation of private property for public uses 
previous indemnity under prescribed forms is 
guaranteed. 

The quartering of soldiers in time of peace upon the 
property of individuals is forbidden, as it is in time of 
war, save under the regulations established by law. 

Civil and ecclesiastical corporations are not permitted 
to acquire landed estates. 



GOVERNMENT AND CONSTITUTION 157 

Monopolies are prohibited save the government monop- 
olies of coinage and the postal service, and the limited 
monopoly enjoyed by patentees of useful inventions. 

The president, with the concurrence of his cabinet and 
the approval of congress, or, during its recess, the con- 
gressional standing committee, may suspend all consti- 
tutional guarantees in case of invasion, grave internal 
disorder, or serious disturbance endangering the state. 

All children born in the country or abroad of Mexican 
parents, foreigners naturalized under the laws of the 
federation, and foreigners acquiring real estate in the 
Republic, or begetting children by Mexican mothers, are 
regarded as Mexican citizens unless a distinct claim of 
citizenship elsewhere is avowed in due legal form. As 
such they are liable to military service and taxation and 
are guaranteed all the rights and privileges enjoyed by 
Mexican citizens. All persons within the Republic, citi- 
zens or foreigners, are guaranteed the protection afforded 
by the constitution and the laws. 

Article 33 of the constitution treats of foreigners, and 
contains among its provisions one empowering the presi- 
dent to expel any '^ pernicious foreigner." 

The congressional committee referred to in the con- 
stitution is composed of twenty-nine members, fifteen 
deputies and fourteen senators, appointed by their respeo- 
tive chambers on the eve of closing their session. 

The amendments to the constitution adopted Septem- 
ber 25, 1873, establish the independence of church and 
state ; deprive congress of the power to make laws which 
establish or suppress any religion whatever; insti- 
tute marriage as a civil contract; substitute 
affirmation for religious oath; prohibit the existence of 
monastic orders, without regard to domination or object ; 
prohibit the clergy to wear their clerical garb except 
when performing religious offices, and expressly exclude 
ecclesiastics from eligibility to the presidency. 



CHAPTER XIII 
THE CITY OF MEXICO 

The City of Mexico derives its name from Mexitli, the 
great war-god of the Aztecs. Its original name was 
Tenochtitlan, from ** tunal," a cactus on a stone, and 
had reference to the legend preserved on the banner of 
Mexico, already related in these pages. 

The city is in the midst of a broad plain completely 
surrounded by high mountains forming the rim of a bowl 
or basin, from which there is no natural outlet for the 
streams that rise in the hills, hence the accumulation of 
waters that may have, at one time, covered the entire face 
of the plain, and since the establishment of the city great 
inundations have occurred as in 1552 and again in 1629, 
flooding the streets and drowning thousands of the inhab- 
itants. To prevent the recurrence of the floods and con- 
sequent disaster the dyke of San Lazaro was built in 
1552, and a canal, called the Tajo de Nochistongo, was 
commenced in 1607, but neither served the purpose of the 
drainage of the vaUey and the city is subject to the 
rise of the waters in the very wet seasons, but inunda- 
tions will be prevented in future by the great tunnel com- 
pleted in 1896, bored through the hills of the eastern rim 
of the bowl. The tunnel is connected with the lakes by 
canals, which makes a perfect drainage of the city and 
of the valley. 

THE FEDERAL DISTRICT 

The city is in what is called the Federal District, cov- 
ering an area of some four hundred and fifty square 
miles — the government of the district like the District 

158 



THE CITY OF MEXICO 159 

of Columbia is directed by the national legislature, 
administered by the ayuntamiento, or city council, the 
city and district being presided over by a governor ap- 
pointed by the president of the Eepublic. The popula- 
tion of the district is in round numbers nearly 700,000, 
and of the city proper about 470,000. 

The great Lake of Texcoco is eastward of the city, 
Xochimilco and Chalco to the southeast, Zumpango 
and San Cristobal to the north. It is probable that before 
the filling up by the building of causeways, and the made- 
lands from the grading, both for the old city of Tenoch- 
titlan and the newer City of Mexico, these lakes were 
all one immense body of water, completely surrounding 
the ancient cities. 

The altitude of the City of Mexico, 7,349 feet above the 
level of the sea at Vera Cruz, -only 200 miles away, gives 
it a most delightful climate and a most even temperature. 
The average mean range of thermometer from October 
to April is 56 degrees and from May to September 63 
degrees ; practically the only difference between summer 
and winter is that it never rains in the winter and it does 
almost every day in the summer — but only in showers, 
and never with long periods of rainy weather — and the 
only cold weather results from a norther that blows up 
from the Gulf and lasts not more than a few hours or a 
day. With the clean, well-kept streets and delightful 
climate, the Mexican capital is a most delightful city, 
whether the sojourn be in the winter or summer months. 

THE NATIONAL PALACE 

Mexico City abounds in public buildings of great his- 
toric interest and of architectural beauty. Foremost 
among these is the National Palace, or Palacio Nacional, 
on the east side of the Plaza Mayor. 

This historic building is the capitol of the Republic 
of Mexico, as it was the vice-regal palace when the coun- 
try was a province of Spain, and before that period was 



160 THE CITY OF MEXICO 

the site of a palace of Cortez, and the property of the 
Conqueror; the land fell to his share when the city lots 
of Tenochtitlan were divided among the Spaniards. At 
that time the site was occupied by what was known as 
** the new palace " of Montezuma, which, being de- 
stroyed, Cortez built in its place a house flanked with 
towers. The estate was confirmed by the king of Spain 
to Cortez in 1529 and remained in the possession of his 
heirs till 1562, when it was bought by the crown for the 
residence of the viceroy, and remained as the vice-regal 
residence until 1692, when the house was destroyed in 
the riots of that year. 

KEBUILT IN 1692 

The present building was begun in 1692 and from time 
to time has been added to until it extends over the entire 
east side of the Plaza Mayor, having a frontage of 675 
feet, extending down the side streets proportionately, 
the whole surrounding an immense patio or court, with 
accommodations for the various departments of the fed- 
eral government, the executive offices. Senate chamber, 
treasury, and barrack room for several regiments. 

The presidential apartments are in accord with the 
high office and the dignity of the government, magnifi- 
cently appointed and splendidly decorated. It is not the 
presidential residence, only the offices of the president 
and of the government. 

The most noted room is the Hall of the Ambassadors, 
an apartment of regal dimensions and adornment. It 
extends its elegant proportions along the palace front, 
the immense windows looking out upon the Plaza. The 
walls are hung with portraits of the illustrious men of 
the country's history, including the martyrs of the War 
of Indep'^ndence, Hidalgo, Allende, Morelos, Matamoros 
and others ; Iturbide, and Presidents Arista, Juarez and 
Porfirio Diaz; there is also a fine portrait of George 
"Washington. 




The largest guns of the largest battleship afloat — • the " New York ■ 



I 







■»-, 




m 


^-i^fr^^^^M 



Sailors and marines line up on a fourteen-inch gun 






•^ 


.^^^Mt ''|R3flHfefeHflRf 


7; 


f ^~j^' 






Twentieth U. S. Infantry on the march 




Fifteenth U. S. Cavalry patrol ing the Kio Grande 



.... , g 


, 1 




H 




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j|isyj 


1 ilil '-^^ 
1 ^^^^^1 




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Submarines at the Charleston Na\v Yard 




Huerta gives hind to obtain recruits — the lots are at the bottom of a lake 



THE CITY OF MEXICO 161 

Mexico's libeety bell 

On the 16tli of September, 1896, there was placed over 
the main gateway of the National Palace the bell from 
the tower of the church of Dolores, in the State of Gua- 
najuato, rung by Hidalgo incidentally to call the people 
to mass, but in reality to call them to arms for the cause 
of independence; hence, it became the Liberty Bell of 
Mexico. 

In the old tower of the little church at Dolores, over 
a hundred years ago on that September night when the 
stars shone bright, rang out the clear tones of a bell. 
The people listened and wondered at its ringing at such 
an hour, but well knew that it rang not except upon the 
order of the faithful padre, the good Father Hidalgo, 
and came from their homes quickly to answer the sum- 
mons and hear what he might say. Assembled there 
under the dim light of the flickering candles of the altar, 
the patriot priest told his people that the hour of inde- 
pendence was at hand and that they should follow him 
and march then to do battle for their country and against 
the Spanish king. "With the banner of Guadalupe taken 
from the little church of Atotonilco as their standard, 
the people followed Hidalgo, they knew not where, they 
only followed Hidalgo, and thus was born the Bell of 
Liberty in Mexico. 

Long ago the banner of Guadalupe of Atatonilco was 
placed in the National Museum of the capital of the Ee- 
public, but the Liberty Bell of Mexico was but recently 
placed above the gates of the National Palace, and on 
the night of the 16th of September, 1896, rang out again 
as it did in that night of 1810 for liberty and independ- 
ence. 

It is in history that the hour when this bell first rang, 
except for mass or matin, was at eleven o 'clock, and forty 
minutes of the night between the 15th and 16th of Sep- 
tember, 1810, then Hidalgo rang it in the call to arms 
and liberty, and when the people answering, assembled 



162 THE CITY OF MEXICO 

under the darkonin^^' shadows of its tower he pronounced 
the Grito of Mexican independence. 

It has long been the custom of the president of Mexico 
to go upon the balcony over the main gateway of the 
National Palace at the same hour and there pronounce 
again the Grito as Hidalgo said, and now he may ring 
the bell that Hidalgo rang and all the people shout their 
vivas now, as did the little band of patriots in 1810. 

The bell had remained in the towers of the church at 
Dolores since Hidalgo rang it on that eventful night, 
says Mr. Reau Campbell in his well-known work on 
Mexico, but on Independence Day of 1896 it was brought 
to the capital, and on the 16th of September, with all 
the pomp and circumstance of state, was carried in grand 
procession and placed over the palace gate. The tri- 
umphal car bearing the bell, the central figure of a glit- 
tering pageant, rolled on golden wheels, whose spokes 
were trimmed with flowers. An eagle with outspread 
wings on the front of the car seemed to fly before the 
precious relic as if to lead the way. In the shadow of 
the eagle's wings rested an old brass cannon, cast by 
Hidalgo. The bell and the cannon were surrounded by 
trophies of the War of Independence, muskets, swords, 
cannon, sponges, picks and pikes; the entire group sur- 
mounted with a wreath of laurel and oak, ending in a 
background of tropic trees, entwined with the colors of 
Mexico. 

The car was drawn by six magnificent horses, mounted 
by postilions and guarded by an escort of rurales; the 
grand procession following was composed of the digni- 
taries of state, civic and military, the army and the peo- 
ple. The lookers-on in Mexico were massed to the walls 
on the sidewalks, every window and balcony was filled 
and so were the housetops, from whence came showers 
of flowers and serpentines in green, white and red, and 
the vivas drowned the music of the band, as the people 
cheered the bell on its progress to the home of the nation. 



THE CITY OF MEXICO 163 

When the car arrived on the Plaza in front of the 
Palace, the bell was removed and hoisted over the central 
gate, in the facade of the Palace, and as it reached its 
final resting-place a thousand doves with tricolor bands 
about their necks rose up from the archway, circled 
around and flew away to the four quarters, carrying the 
glad news. 

The president and his cabinet watched the hoisting of 
the bell from a pavilion, and when the work was com- 
pleted it was formally received from the commission 
that had brought it from Dolores Hidalgo. The patriotic 
speeches of presentation and reception were received 
with wild applause and the ceremony continued till the 
evening. 

All day long the crowds had not left the Plaza, only 
thinned out a little now and then, and when night came 
it was packed again until the hour of eleven drew on and 
there was a solid mass of humanity within the walls of 
the great square. 

At 11:35 o'clock President Diaz came from the Hall 
of the Ambassadors to the balcony where, till now, he 
had only pronounced the Grito, took the rope in his hand, 
a silence fell on the multitude till the hands of the clock 
crawled to forty minutes past, and he gave the bell four 
lusty strokes, and a mighty shout went up and re-echoed 
to the surrounding hills ; then rang all the bells in every 
tower. A star of electric fire surrounded the bell and 
cascades of colored fires poured down from the cathedral 
towers and the Palace walls, bands played and people 
shouted, and almost wept from patriotic joy. The inde- 
scribable scene may not be written in the words of any 
language. Great was the boon of him who saw the dedi- 
cation of Mexico's Liberty Bell. 

MANY MAGNIFICENT CHUECHESI 

" It was a marvelous time of original and beautiful 
work that covered Mexico with churches, and set up in 



164 THE CITY OF MEXICO 

all the remote and almost inaccessible villages towers 
and domes that match the best work in Italy, and recall 
the triumphs of Moorish art, ' ' writes that ardent student 
of Mexico, Mr. Charles Dudley Warner. *' The beauty 
and originality is wholly in the exterior. AVhile nearly 
all the towers, domes, facades, and outside walls are 
original in form and color and decorations and have a 
special charm, the interiors are strikingly alike and gen- 
erally commonplace. This uniformity is the more 
remarkable in a people that build their interior domestic 
courts and decorate them with so much variety. It should 
be said, however, that some of the interiors of the 
churches were very rich in silver and gold decorations 
prior to the sequestration of church property. 

" Except in the general form of these churches, there 
is nowhere any repetition of design. The artists seemed 
to have had free play to express their love of beauty in 
towers, domes and facades. Nothing is commonplace; 
nothing is vulgar. Towers and domes, any one of which 
I should like to see in the United States, are common 
in the Republic ; but it seemed to me that in this part of 
Mexico they expressed a feeling not common elsewhere 
— not Italian (which one encounters in so many lovely 
cloisters and towers), nor yet exactly Spanish, but rather, 
I should say, Saracenic. At least this was the impression 
strongly made upon me. The domes always reminded 
me of the tombs of sheiks, of the califs, and so on, as one 
sees them in all Moslem lands, and the slender towers 
recalled the graceful minarets. These two forms in com- 
bination, so constant and so varied, suggested always 
the Saracenic spirit in the artist. 

* * It may be only a fancy, but it is not unreasonable to 
believe that the Spanish architect who designed them 
was strongly influenced in his work by the Saracenic 
forms with which he was so familiar three centuries ago. 
There is another fancy about the facades of many of the 
best old Mexican churches which I may have mentioned 



THE CITY OF MEXICO 165 

before. It is a peculiarity wHcli one sees in many vil- 
lage churches, and even in the City of Mexico, and in 
such suburban towns as Coyoacan and Tacubaya. 

" While the churches were evidently designed by 
Spanish architects, the workers who executed the facades 
were evidently Indians; and in the strange stone-work 
designs, unlike any other architectural decoration that 
I know, and very difficult for us to interpret or enter 
into the spirit of — we have the Indian traditions of a 
prehistoric art and ornamentation. Much of this work, 
untranslatable into our terms, has more in common with 
the carving on the prehistoric temples than with that on 
any Christian edifices. The subject is one, however, that 
a layman is incompetent to deal with. It is much to be 
desired that trained artists should study and describe the 
old churches of Mexico. Many of them, like the noble 
edifice of Churubusco, with its interior wealth of old 
Spanish tiles, are already going to ruin. 

NO TWO TOWEES ALIKE 

^ ' The fascination in pursuing the study of the towers 
and domes is that there are no two alike. There was no 
slavish copying from book designs. The style is the 
same, but each architect followed his own genius in con- 
structing an object of beauty. The edifices are not 
always simple; the roof masses are bold and grand, 
often; and there is an effect of solidity, of grandeur, 
with all the airy grace of form, and the satisfaction of 
the eye with color. 

i i There is a touch of decay nearly everywhere, a crum- 
bling and a defacement of colors, which add somewhat 
of pathos to the old structures ; but in nearly every one 
there is some unexpected fancy — a belfry oddly placed, 
a figure that surprises with its quaintness or its position, 
or a rich bit of deep stone carving, and in the humblest 
and plainest facade there is a note of individual yielding 
to a whim of expression that is very fascinating. The 



166 THE CITY OF MEXICO 

architects escaped from the commonplace and the con- 
ventional; they imderstood proportion without regular- 
ity, and the result is not, perhaps, explainable to those 
who are only accustomed to our church architecture. 
But most of ours, good as it occasionally may be, is 
uninteresting; whereas you love this, in all its shabbi- 
ness of age, and do not care to give a reason why. ' ' 

THE GREAT CATHEDRAL 

On the very foundations of the greatest pagan temple 
of the continent is erected the most ambitious house of 
the Christian Church in the western world — the Cathe- 
dral. The Holy Metropolitan Church of Mexico is built 
on the site of the great teocali of the Aztecs. 

The bishopric of Mexico was established in 1527 by 
Pope Clement VII., and on the 12th of December of that 
year Fray Juan de Zumarraga, at the instance of Charles 
V. of Spain, was made bishop, but it was not until a year 
later that he arrived in the City of Mexico, and on the 
2d of September, 1530, was confirmed as bishop-elect and 
protector of the Indians. 

The archbishopric of Mexico was created by Pope Paul 
II. on the 31st of January, 1545, with Bishop Zumarraga 
as archbishop. 

When the Aztec temples that were in the center of the 
city of Tenochtitlan were destroyed by the Spaniards 
in 1521, the space was set apart for the building of a 
Christian church, as before the walls of the teocali were 
razed to the ground the sign of the cross and the image 
of the Virgin were shown above the pagan altars, and at 
the throwing down of the heathen gods and idols, as a 
consecration of the ground, and when the ruins had been 
cleared away, the first church in the City of Mexico, the 
little church of the Asuncion de Maria Santisima, was 
built where the temple stood. 

This church, finished about three years after the con- 
quest, was replaced soon after by the first cathedral, and 



THE CITY OF MEXICO 167 

was preserved until tlie larger one could be built. It 
stood in the open court in front of the present cathedral, 
the first stone of which was laid just beyond the north 
wall in 1573. 

BEGUIT IN" 1573 

The corner-stone of the present cathedral was laid in 
1573; the foundations were completed in 1615, and the 
walls were well under way; the roof over the sacristy 
was finished in 1623, the first service held in 1626. The 
great inundation of 1629-35 greatly hindered the work, 
so that the dedication did not take place till 1656, Febru- 
ary 2, and even then the building was still incomplete, 
and it was not until eleven years later, on the 2nd of 
February, 1667, that the final dedication occurred. 

The towers were completed in 1791, and the bells placed 
in position in 1792. The cost of the towers was nearly 
$200,000, and the great bell called Santa Maria de 
Guadalupe, twenty feet from the top fastenings to the 
tongue, cost $10,000. The larger bell, in the other tower, 
called Dona Maria, cost nearly as much. 

The estimated cost of the Cathedral, from the laying 
of the corner-stone to the hanging of the bells, is put at 
$2,000,000 — but that does not represent a tithe of the 
actual cost if the labor had a fair value put upon it, and 
the material had been bought at market prices. From 
north to south the building is over 400 feet in length, the 
interior measuring 387 feet. From west to east the 
interior width is 177 feet, the height from roof to the 
tiles of the floor is 179 feet. The towers are 203 feet 6 
inches high. 

The material of the walls and towers is stone, the roof 
is in arches of brick and cement. The front is to the 
south, the facade richly carved and with friezes, statues, 
etc., in white marble between the two great towers, with 
their bell-shaped caps and crosses in stone, make it one 
of the handsomest in the world. On the cornices are 



168 THE CITY OF MEXICO 

statues of saints and great men of the cliurcli and 
religious orders. In the center of the facade is the clock, 
and below it the arms of the Republic. Surmounting the 
whole is the magnificent dome and lantern of graceful 
proportions, by the architect Tolsa. The entire Cathe- 
dral was from the architectural plans of Alonzo Perez 
Castaneda. 

AN IMMENSE EDIFICE 

The immensity of the great church is apparent imme- 
diately upon entrance. It is Gothic and Doric, with 
a cold simplicity. Twenty massive fluted columns of 
stone separate the nave from the aisles and support the 
vaulted roof, that under the lofty dome is shaped in the 
form of a Latin cross. The dome is handsomely painted 
in pictures of sacred history, among which is the 
Assumption of the Virgin. There are fourteen chapels 
in the Cathe-^-al, seven in each aisle, dedicated to the 
various saints, each decorated in its own particular style 
with pictures of scenes from the lives of the respective 
saints. These chapels were formerly inclosed with hand- 
somely carved wood railings. Now they are behind iron 
gratings, where there are constantly burning candles 
and tapers in front of the images of the saints. The 
most noted of the chapels is that of San Felipe de Jesus, 
where are preserved some relics of this saint, and in 
front of which is the font in which he was baptized. In 
this chapel rest the remains of the first emperor of Mex- 
ico, Aug-ustin Iturbide, beneath a monument erected to 
the honored memory of ' ' The Liberator. ' ' 

Another chapel is that of Las Reliquias, containing 
pictures by Herrera of the holy martyrs. In another, 
that of San Pedro, lies buried the first bishop and arch- 
bishop of Mexico, Juan de Zumarraga, and also the 
remains of Gregorio Lopez, the Mexican Man with an 
Iron Mask, supposed to have been a son of Philip the 
Second of Spain. 



THE CITY OF MEXICO 169 

The choir is enclosed within a high railing of richly- 
carved woods, and in the center of this enclosed space is 
a large octagonal stand of highly polished dark wood 
for the music books, that have their notes so large that 
they can be read from the seats around the railing. Two 
immense organs, also in carved wood, rise almost to the 
arches of the roof. From the choir, leading up the nave, 
is a passageway to an altar, inclosed between railings 
of tumbago, a metal composed of gold, silver and copper. 
In the rear of the choir is the Altar of Pardon (del 
Perdon), where at any time may be seen the devotees 
kneeling in crowds about the base of the altar. Here 
are two fine paintings, one by the great woman artist, 
La Sumaya, a San Sabastian, and a Candalaria, by 
Echave. 

The main altar, erected in 1850, was designed by 
Lorenzo Hidalgo, and cost a fortune in its ornamenta- 
tions, gilding and carving. The fine Altar of the Kings 
(de los Reyes) is the most imposing in the building, of 
magnificent proportions. Its top reaches to the arches 
of the roof. The altar was by the artist who made the 
Altar de Los Reyes in the Cathedral of Seville in Spain. 
The rich carvings and gildings are the especial admira- 
tion of the Indians. A noted Mexican artist, Don Juan 
Rodriguez Juarez, greatly added to the beauty of the 
altar by his images and pictures, among which are the 
Assumption and the Epiphany. Beneath the Altar of 
the Kings are buried the heads of the patriots Hidalgo, 
AUende, Aldama and Jimenez, brought from Guanajuato 
in great state and pomp after independence was secured. 

In the sacristy are some magnificent pictures that com- 
pletely cover its walls: The Entry into Jerusalem, the 
Catholic Church and the Assumption, by Juan Correa; 
the Triumph of the Sacrament, Immaculate Conception, 
and the Glory of St. Michael, by Villalpando. In the 
Meeting Room is a Last Supper and Triumph of Faith 
by Alcibar, and a collection of portraits of all the arch- 



170 THE CITY OF MEXICO 

bisliops of Mexico by various artists. In the Chapter 
Room is a fine Murillo, the Virgin of Bethlehem, a Virgin 
by Cortona, and another by an unknown artist repre- 
senting John of Austria imploring the Virgin at the 
battle of Lepanto. — Campbell's Guide to Mexico. 

In all this great Cathedral and its adjunct churches 
and chapels are concentrated the pomp and circumstance 
of the church of Rome, that for centuries was the power 
of the land, and within the walls was made much of the 
country's history. 

CHUECH OF SAN FKANCISCO 

The churches of Mexico City are so numerous that it 
is impossible to describe more than one or two of them 
here, though they are all interesting. But the old Church 
of San Francisco deserves more than passing notice. 

The original church and monastery was the greatest 
in all Mexico, and its name is closely identified with the 
great events of the country's history, from Cortez to 
Comonfort and Juarez. Established by the Twelve 
Apostles of Mexico and Fray Pedro de Gante, who came 
to Mexico City three years after its occupation by Cortez, 
the first church was built in the grounds that had been 
the wild beast garden of Montezuma. The building 
material was taken from the great teocali, or temple of 
the Aztecs, in what is now the Plaza Mayor, Cortez con- 
tributing the building fund. The grounds covered three 
great squares in the very center of the city, bounded on 
the north by First San Francisco Street, on the south by 
the Calle de Zuleta, on the east by Calles Coliseo, and 
Colegio de las Ninas, and on the west by San Juan de 
Letran, an estate that would now be worth more than 
ten millions of dollars for the ground alone, which is 
now occupied by the Hotels Iturbide, San Carlos and 
Jardin, and the adjoining stores and residences, an estate 
worth some more millions. 

The history of this great house of Franciscans from 



THE CITY OF MEXICO 171 

the zenith of its power to its downfall would fill volumes 
with its incidents, Cortez heard masses from its altars, 
and within its walls his bones were entombed. In this 
church the viceroys attended mass and lent their pres- 
ence at the great festivals. Here was sung the first Te 
Deum of Mexican Independence, General Augustin Itur- 
bide being in the assemblage, and here he, too, was 
buried. 

'* The church flourished," says Reau Campbell, " the 
brothers went about doing good, and they prospered 
until the evil day came when they thought to put the 
state under the rule of the church. A conspiracy tending 
to the overthrow of government was discovered and it 
was reported to President Comonfort the 14th of Sep- 
tember, 1856, that the Franciscans were at the head of a 
revolt and that the blow was to be struck on the 15th, 
Independence Day. The president, acting with his accus- 
tomed promptness, sent his troops to the monastery early 
on the morning of the 15th, arrested the entire commu- 
nity of monks, and took possession of church, monastery 
and grounds. On the 16th a decree was announced open- 
ing a new street called Independencia that cut the 
grounds from east to west. Two days later another 
decree cited the treason of the Franciscans and sup- 
pressed the monastery. 

'' The decree of suppression was rescinded in the fol- 
lowing February, and, although shorn of its greatness 
and some of its real estate, the monastery was restored 
and continued in a feeble way till the entry of the army 
of Juarez, on the 27th of December, 1860, when the great 
monastery was closed forever. The ornaments, jewels 
and paintings were taken to the Academy of Fine Arts, 
the interior decorations were defaced and the altars 
removed. In April another street was opened through 
the property, with the scant satisfaction to the Francis- 
cans that the street was called Gante, in honor of the 
greatest of their order. 



172 THE CITY OF MEXICO 

* ' Soon the construction of dwelling houses began, and 
stores were built, the monastery became a hotel, and the 
refectory, where there was room for five hundred broth- 
ers to sit together at the table, became a stable — and 
the church, after an almost royal existence of three hun- 
dred and thirty years, became a Protestant Cathedral 
with scarcely a memory of its Catholic glory. ' ' 

DEDICATED IN 1716. 

The main church of San Francisco, as it existed up to 
1860, was dedicated December 8, 1716. It was a magnifi- 
cent structure, 60 feet wide by 230 feet long, with a dome 
and lantern over a hundred feet high; the great walls 
were covered with pictures, and thousands and thou- 
sands of dollars were expended in decorations, the silver 
tabernacle over the altar costing $25,000. 

Eather than a church there was a group of seven 
churches, called by different names, but all were San 
Franciscan. The only remaining one of the group is that 
of Nuestra Senora de Aranzazu, and that is now known 
as San Felipe de Jesus. The entrance is on First San 
Francisco Street, where a new facade has been built 
that is joined to the old walls whose corner-stone was 
laid in 1683, on the 25th of March. Many of the elegant 
interior decorations remain. In walking around the 
block bounded by the streets of San Francisco, San Juan 
de Letran, Independencia and Gante remains of the 
facades of the old churches may be seen. The Hotel 
Jardin was the infirmary and lodging house of the mon- 
astery. Across the garden is the old refectory, now a 
livery stable. The Iturbide Hotel is on grounds intended 
for a convent, and the San Carlos is within the line of 
the walls of old San Francisco. 

In 1869 the great church was sold to the Protestant 
Church of Jesus in Mexico, but it has since been resold' 
to the Catholic Church. Trinity (Methodist Episcopal) 
Church was constructed from a portion of the old walls, 



THE CITY OF MEXICO 173 

and Christ Church, Church of England, occupied another 
part. Dwellings, stores, shops, hotels, restaurants, are 
built on the grounds of the ancient church and monastery. 

CHURCH OF JESUS NAZAKENO 

The church now called Jesus Nazareno was founded 
by Cortez immediately after the permanent occupation 
of the city; by his will he left ample endowment for its 
building and support, but it was nearly a hundred years 
before it reached an era of prosperity, and the church 
whose building commenced in 1575 was not dedicated till 
ninety years after, when the name was changed from the 
original one of Nuestra Senora de la Purisima Concep- 
cion to Jesus Nazareno, from the miraculous image of 
Jesus of Nazareth that came into its possession through 
the death of a pious Indian woman to whom it had 
belonged. 

The church has suffered little from modern repairs 
and renovations. The handsomely carved wooden roof 
remains, but the doors and other woodwork were renewed 
in 1835. The old altars and the large tabernacle are 
still in place. 

Another notable image is that of Nuestra Senora de 
la Bala, that was once the property of a poor Indian of 
Ixtapalapan, who, the legend says, took his gun with the 
intent of shooting his wife. The terrified woman fell 
down before the image and implored the protection ot 
the Virgin — and when the shot was fired it was found 
that the old man was not a particularly good marksman, 
and that the ball had lodged in the image, after which 
husband and wife became reconciled as they perceived 
that a miracle had been performed. The image was kept 
in the church of San Lazaro for two hundred years and 
brought to Jesus Nazareno in 1884. 

The bones of Cortez rested in this church for awhile. 
The Conqueror directed that should he die in Spain his 
bones should, after ten years, be taken to Mexico and 



174 THE CITY OF MEXICO 

placed in the Convent of La Concepcion, that it was his 
intention to bnikl, but which never was built. Cortez 
died in Castelleja de la Questa, in Spain, December 2d, 
1547. The body was deposited in the tomb of the Dukes 
of Medina Sidonia, and ten years later was taken to 
Mexico and placed in the Church of San Francisco, in 
Texcoco, where it remained till 1629. On the 30th of 
January of that year his grandson, Don Pedro Cortez, 
died, the last of the male line. It was concluded to 
remove the remains of the conqueror and bury them 
with the grandson in the Church of San Francisco, in the 
City of Mexico, which was done with great pomp and 
ceremony, and here his bones reposed for one hundred 
and sixty-five years. 

On the 2d of July, 1734, the bones were removed again 
and placed in a magnificent marble mausoleum in the 
Church of Jesus Nazareno, remaining there for nearly 
thirty years. During the revolutionary times of the war 
for independence the hatred of the people for the Span- 
iards threatened even the bones of the great soldiers of 
the conquest, and on the night of the 15th of September, 
1823, they were removed and secreted in another part of 
the church, and later taken out secretly and sent to 
Spain, and were finally laid to rest in the tombs of the 
Dukes of Monteleone in Italy. His bones having crossed 
the Atlantic twice, were interred six times in as many 
different places, and finally have rested neither in the 
land of his birth, nor in the country he conquered. — 
Campbell. 

THE PAEKS AND PLAZAS 

The Alameda is the fashionable park of the City of 
Mexico, and is so called from the fact that it was first 
planted with alamos, or poplars. Every city, town and 
village has an alameda, but this is the alameda of Mexico. 

In 1592 a petition was made to the city council to set 



THE CITY OF MEXICO 175 

apart certain ground for a park of recreation, and the 
old Indian market, the Tianquis del San Hipolito, located 
on a part of the present Alameda, was selected, and a 
little later the Plaza del Quemadero, the place of the 
stone altar on which the victims of the Inquisition were 
burned, was added. The Quemadero was removed by 
order of the Viceroy Marquis de Croix, and the Alameda 
attained its present size and shape. By his order to 
remove the Quemadero the viceroy, it is said, incurred 
the displeasure of the bigots of the church, and this same 
Quemadero came near being his own funeral pyre. 

The Viceroy Revillagigedo, famous for his energetic 
reforms and municipal improvements, inclosed the 
Alameda with a high board fence in 1791, which was 
replaced in 1822 by the stone wall that had done duty 
on the Plaza Mayor in inclosing the unfortunate statue 
of Charles IV. A trench was outside the wall of the 
Alameda, but these were all obliterated in 1885. The 
Alameda is the resort of the fashionables, and here they 
congregate Sundays and feast days to enjoy the music 
of the military bands. The magnificent trees, the flowers 
and the fountains make the Alameda a most beautiful 
park. 

THE PLAZA MAYOB 

The Main Plaza, or Plaza Mayor de la Constitucion, 
is in the city's center, where stood the great teocali, the 
temple of the Aztecs, and where stands the Cathedral, 
and facing it the National Palace. When the Aztec tem- 
ples were destroyed and the city being built, an open 
space was left here that soon became a market place and 
filled with shops and booths. These were destroyed by 
fire, after the royal order of January 18, 1611, creating 
the space a public plaza, only to be rebuilt and subse- 
quently destroyed in a riot in 1692, the fire destroying 
the building of the Ayuntamiento (city council) and injur- 



176 THE CITY OF MEXICO 

ing the palace, with a loss of valuable records, a portion 
only being- saved through the efforts of Don Carlos de 
Siguenza y Gongora, the custodian. 

Afterward an elegant stone building, called the Parian, 
was erected by the municipality, and was rented to mer- 
chants of a high class, who brought here their wares, 
and it became the bazaar of fine trade, but the fruit 
sellers and vegetable venders surrounded it with their 
huts again and remained for many years. 

The coming of the Conde de Revillagigedo, the viceroy, 
in 1789, marked the beginning of the present plaza. The 
hucksters and peddlers were driven off to the Volador 
market, the open ditches were covered into sewers, the 
panteons removed or obliterated, and in 1830 the founda- 
tion was laid in the plaza for the equestrian statue of 
Charles IV., that was afterward removed and which now 
stands at the entrance of the Paseo de la Eeforma. The 
Parian was looted during the revolution of 1828, and 
later, in 1843, the building torn down and the site included 
in the plaza. 

In the center of the plaza is the Garden of the Zocalo, 
which derives its name from the zocalo, or foundation, 
for a monument that w^as never built, a monument to 
Mexican independence. From this the plaza is often 
called the Zocalo. A music stand is built on the founda- 
tion, and a military band plays here evenings and Sun- 
days for the middle and poorer classes. 

On two sides of the Plaza Mayor are the portales, an 
extension of the buildings over the sidewalks that are 
supported by columns with arches between, under which 
are some of the finest stores in the city. On the east 
side the National Palace extends almost its entire 
length ; on the north the great Cathedral, with its towers, 
flanked on one side by the flower market and on the 
other by the Plaza del Seminario, which is only a part 
of the main plaza. Here is a monument to Enrico 
Martinez, the noted engineer of his day, who was 




A sanitary American camp — The Second Division, U. S. A., Camp at 

Texas City, Tex. 




An unsanitary camp of the Villa revolutionists 




United States warsliips at tlie Charleston Navy Yard 




Taking' aboard ainniunition for the ileet in iJoston Harbor 




A practice charge of the Sixteeiitli Infantry at Fort Bliss, Tex. 




Sham Ught between U. S. infantry and cavalry on the Mexican border 



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Farewell tango on the '' North Dakota " at the Brooklyn Navy Yard 




Sweethearts' farewell just before the sailing for. Vera Cruz 



THE CITY OF MEXICO 177 

responsible for the Nochistongo canal, for the drainage 
of the city. Bronze figures, inlaid in a marble shaft, 
show standards of measurement and the level of the 
lakes at different times. 

From the Plaza Mayor street cars for all parts of 
the city and the suburbs start, and here the salutes are 
fired, and the troops reviewed on national days, the 
16th of September, 5th of May, 2d of April and other 
days of national celebration. 

THE PASEO 

The Paseo de la Eeforma extends for almost three 
miles from the city to Chapultepec, commencing at the 
glorieta of the statue of Charles IV., running in a direct 
line to the gates of the park at the foot of the Hill of the 
Grasshopper. It is a broad, smooth, and very beautiful 
boulevard, shaded by splendid trees, as are the wide 
walk-ways on each side; along the curb and between the 
promenades, at certain intervals, are erected statues to 
the illustrious men of Mexico, presented by the various 
states of the Republic; massive stone seats are along 
the promenade under the trees. The Paseo widens into 
circles, here and there, called glorietas, in the center of 
which are splendid statues, one of Columbus and one of 
Cuautemoc, the Aztec warrior, nephew and successor of 
Montezuma. Other statues are to be erected in all the 
six glorietas. In the glorieta at the entrance of the Paseo 
is the statue of Charles IV. of Spain. The Aztec statues 
once here have been removed to the Paseo de La Viga. 

The Paseo was established during the empire of 
Maximilian, and became at once the fashionable drive of 
the Mexican capital, and a more beautiful one does not 
exist in Europe or America. Here in the late afternoon 
of every day, greatly increased in brilliancy on Sundays 
and feast days, is a magnificent display of carriages and 
equipages of every style, and a more splendid review 
does not exist anywhere. The fine array passes up one 



178 THE CITY OF MEXICO 

side and down the other, a cordon of cavalrymen in the 
center keeping the procession in line, and adding to the 
brilliancy of the scene. There are other paseos in the 
city, but the Paseo de la Eeforma is the paseo. 

THE OLD AQUEDUCTS 

Aqueducts for the city's water supply began to be 
built more than two centuries ago, but their usefulness 
has passed, they have given way to the more prosaic 
iron pipes, and the ancient waterways have been torn 
down and the material used for street repairs. There 
were two aqueducts bringing water to the southern part 
of the city, one from a spring near the Desierto, about 
twenty miles distant. This aqueduct formerly came to 
the center of the city, passing by the west side of the 
Alameda, where it served as a position of advantage for 
those wishing to see the burning of the victims of the 
Inquisition. It now ends in San Cosme. Formerly there 
were nearly a thousand arches of stone and brick, but 
the whole work cost less than $200,000. The building 
covered a period from 1603 to 1620. 

The other aqueduct brought the water from the spring 
in the park at Chapultepec, ending in the beautiful foun- 
tain called El Salto del Agua, which is still preserved, 
and the remaining arches may be seen from the street 
cars of the Tacubaya line. At certain intervals are some 
beautiful shrines artistically sculptured. An inscription 
on the fountain of El Salto del Agua says that this aque- 
duct was completed March 20, 1779, during the viceroy- 
alty of Bucareli, and that it was built on the line of an 
ancient aqueduct of the Aztecs, built in the time of the 
Emperor Chimalpopoca, who obtained the right to take 
the water of Chapultepec from the king of Atzcapatzalco, 
to whom the Aztecs owed allegiance until their inde- 
pendence, in the time of Itzcohuatl, in 1422 to 1433. 

The more modern iron pipe brings water from the 



THE CITY OF MEXICO 179 

springs near Guadalupe to the northern portion of the 
city. The aguador still does business, carrying water 
from the fountains to residences. The water coming 
from the springs is exceptionally pure, as it comes from 
the hills, and there is no contamination by contact with 
sewage. 

A WOELD-FAMED STATUE 

The statue of Charles IV. of Spain is the most notable 
of the many in the city of Mexico. It is of heroic dimen- 
sions, being the largest single piece of bronze in the 
world. It is located at the entrance of the Paseo de la 
Eef orma, but was originally in the Plaza Mayor, opposite 
the National Palace, where, before the casting a wooden 
model of the statue, gilded, was placed on the pedestal 
pending the molding of the bronze work. A royal order 
by the king of Spain was made November 30, 1795, per- 
mitting the building of the statue. The cast was made 
August 4, 1802, at six o'clock in the morning, after two 
days had been spent in melting the bronze, under the 
direction of Don Salvador de la Vega, from the model 
of Don Manuel Tolsa, the work being done under the 
administration of the Viceroy Branciforte, paid for by 
the city and private contributions. The statue was not 
completed until 1803, when it was unveiled with great 
ceremony on the 9th of December of that year. 

The statue remained in the Plaza Mayor until 1822, 
when the feeling against the Spaniards became so bitter 
that its destruction was threatened, and a great wooden 
globe was constructed about it and painted blue to pro- 
tect it from patriotic missiles thrown by the now inde- 
pendent Mexicans. But the blue globe was not thought 
to be a complete safeguard, and the statue was removed 
to the patio of the university, where it remained until 
1852, when the animosity against Spain had in a measure 
subsided, and the great bronze horse with his royal rider 
was placed in its present position. The height of horse 



180 THE CITY OF MEXICO 

and rider is fifteen feet nine inches, and the statue weighs 
60,000 pounds. 

PUBLIC AND PRIVATE SCHOOLS 

There were in 1908, 353 government schools in the 
city, including 13 professional and technical schools, and 
nearly 200 private schools ; a geographical society, a geo- 
logical society, an association of engineers and archi- 
tects, a society of natural history; also a national 
library dedicated in 1692, of upwards of 225,000 volumes. 

There are over 150 manufacturing establishments, 
including ironworking shops. 

By rail the city is 264 miles northwest of Vera Cruz. 
It is laid out with almost unbroken regularity. The 
name of a street changes with almost every block, accord- 
ing to old Spanish custom. 

DEATH EATE IMPROVING 

Though the climate is so favorable and Mexico City 
is 7,415 feet above the sea, yet, with a wet, undrained 
subsoil, and many thousands of Indians and half-breeds 
living in crowded quarters, the death rate has been 
notoriously high — 46 to 56 per thousand. Of late years, 
however, drainage works, underground sewers, and san- 
itation have tended to improve these conditions. 



CHAPTER XIV 
AROUND THE VALLEY 

BEAUTIFUL CHAPULTEPEC 

In all the lovely Valley of Anahuac, none of the hills 
embrace so many beauties as cling to Chapultepec, the 
beautiful Hill of the Grasshopper, where, the legends say, 
under the grateful shades of the giant ahuehuetls, was 
the home of Montezuma and the Aztec tzins. When the 
summer days were long they came from old Tenochtitlan, 
over the long causeway, the emperor, in palanquin borne, 
the first in the royal pageant, with the princess attended 
by plumed and feathered warriors, and sat them down to 
rest ere they commenced the climb of rugged rocks. 
Attending slaves rested too their waving fans, when the 
cooling zephyrs from the trees fell more softly on the 
monarch's brow, till, less languid now, before the ascent 
began to be half way done, the Aztec lord one day left 
his palanquin, when he had bade its carriers put it down, 
and entered a cavern that is there; and while the tzins 
waited his return they heard his voice from the rocks 
high above them, and it seemed their king was a very 
god, since none knew but Montezuma how to pass thus, 
through the earth from the valley to the hill-top, and all 
the people shouted in adoration of their ' ' fair god. ' * 

PALACE OF MONTEZUMA 

It is in the legends that the palace of the Montezumas 
was on the Hill of the Grasshopper, called Chapultepec, 
and here the Spanish viceroy, Don Matias de Galvaez, 
commenced in 1783, and his son Don Bernardo com- 

181 



182 AROUND THE VALLEY 

pleted in 1785, the palace that stands there to-day, but 
since each recurring viceroy, emperor and president has 
proceeded further with its completion, adding, each one, 
to its size and cost, until it is now a palace indeed, the 
home of the president of Mexico and the seat of the 
National Military Academy. 

A SUPERB SITE 

The site is a superb one, reached by a winding carriage 
road on one side and a steep foot-path on another, while 
the other sides are precipitous, with almost perpendicular 
cliffs. The carriage road and foot-path from the gates 
end at the broad esplanade at the top, where the sentinels 
of the cadet corps are always on guard, and beyond which 
guard there is no passing, except by permit from the 
governor of the National Palace. The card of the gov- 
ernor is not taken up by the guard, as it is necessary to 
present it to the attendant in charge to gain admittance 
to the palace. 

The view from the esplanade is beautiful indeed. 
Tacubaya, almost hidden by trees, is in the middle dis- 
tance, and beyond, on the rising hills, other towns and 
villages; and still beyond the mountains are the great 
snow-capped peaks of Popocatepetl and Ixtaccihuatl. If 
you agree that the vista from the esplanade is very beau- 
tiful, pass through the garden to the overhanging gallery 
on the other side, and look out over the broad spreading 
plain of the valley. To the right is the field of Churu- 
busco, and farther on to the east sheltering mountains. 
In front, the magnificent city, with its hundreds of 
towers ; the tallest overshadowing all the others, are the 
Cathedral's. Beyond the city's spreading squares you 
can see the hill and church of Guadalupe. Following the 
range of vision round to the left there is the suburb of 
Tacuba, the hill of Los Remedios; and nearer to where 
you stand is the battleground of Molino del Rey. The 
magnificence of the picture baffles all description; it is 



AEOUND THE VALLEY 183 

wondrous to behold, and the memory of it lives with you 
always. 

Far below your feet the tall cypresslike trees shade 
the modest monument erected to the memory of the 
cadets who fell in the defense of the castle from the 
assaulting Americans in '47. The names on the shaft 
tell of those whose lives went out in the merciless fire 
of a superior army. A monument was not needed except 
in their honor, says Mr. Reau Campbell in his guide, for 
the memory of these brave boys lives in the hearts of 
their countrymen. There are fresh beauties in this hang- 
ing garden filled with pretty flowers, in the galleries, 
adorned in Pompeiian color, but these do not detain, — 
there is too much grandeur in the view, — and you wander 
again to the terrace and gaze over the valley to the 
blue rim of the mountains melting into the lighter blue 
of the sky, and are loth to leave even for the magnificence 
of the interior of this splendid palace. 

The salons and apartments of the Castle of Chapul- 
tepec have the appointments of regal magnificence, since 
they are a heritage from the viceroys of olden times 
and a latter-day emperor; and the luxurious beauty of 
the decorations is due to none more than '' poor 
Carlotta," though all that was indicative of the empire 
has disappeared, and the monogramed '* R. M." appears 
everywhere to remind you that it is the palace of the 
Republic of Mexico. 

MOLINO DEL KEY 

The field of the battle of September 28, 1847, at Molino 
del Rey, is near Chapultepec, and may be seen from the 
palace terrace. The battle of Molino del Rey was 
declared by General Grant to have been one of the 
unnecessary battles of an unholy and unjust war. 

CHUEUBUSCO 

One of the engagements during the siege of the Mex- 
ican capital by the Americans, was fought August 20, 



184 AEOUND THE VALLEY 

1847, at Churubusco, under the American Generals 
Smith, Worth and Twiggs. A gallant defense was made 
by the commander of the Mexican forces. General Don 
Pedro Maria Anaya, who, in answer to an inquiry by 
General Twiggs after the battle as to the whereabouts 
of the ammunition, gallantly replied: '' Had I any 
ammunition, you would not be here. ' ' A monument com- 
memorative of the battle is in the village plaza. 

In Aztec times the city of Huitzilopocho, with its tem- 
ple to the god Huitzilopochtli, stood on the site of the 
now straggling village of Churubusco. The old city had 
a bad name as the abode of evil spirits and demons that 
made night hideous with their bowlings, but when the 
monks built a temple to the true gods the demons of 
Huitzilopochtli vanished. The Church of Santa Maria de 
los Angeles, the name also of the primitive church, was 
completed in 1678, May 2d, under the patronage of Don 
Diego del Castillo, a silver merchant, and his wife Dona 
Helena de la Cruz, whose images carved in wood are still 
preserved in the church. Although almost a ruin, the 
church is one of the most interesting in Mexico, and 
there are still remains of its former great beauty. The 
pretty decorations of tiles are rapidly disappearing, and 
the richly carved organ is falling into decay. There are 
several curious pictures, among which is a fine Assump- 
tion of the Virgin. 

THE ANCIENT CAPITAL, 

The town of Coyoacan was once the capital of Mexico 
and is older than the City of Mexico, since Cortez estab- 
lished the seat of government there August 17, 1521, and 
from Coyoacan laid out the plans and directed the found- 
ing of the city, and there were the feasts celebrating the 
victories of the conquest. On the north side of the plaza 
stands the house in which the conqueror lived for many 
days with La Marina, his faithful gTiide and interpreter. 
The coat of arms of Cortez is over the doorway. Near 



ABOUND THE VALLEY 185 

this house is another with a garden, where Cortez also 
dwelt, and in the garden a well in which he drowned his 
wife, who lies beneath the cross on the mound in a near-by 
churchyard. The Church of San Juan Bautista was built 
in 1583, founded at the same time with the Dominican 
monastery in 1530 by Fray Domingo de Vetanzos. The 
stone cross on the mound in the churchyard was placed 
there by Cortez. 

Mexico's monte caklo 

Tacubaya is the prettiest place in the valley of Mex- 
ico, with its beautiful gardens, parks and shaded streets, 
lovely flowers and luxuriant trees everywhere, so that 
it is no wonder that here is the place of the summer 
homes of the wealthiest people in the Mexican capital. 
The location of the little city, on the slope of the hills 
back of Chapultepec, is so advantageous that it was con- 
templated at one time, after the great inundation of the 
City of Mexico in 1629 and '34, to make this the site of 
the national capital. At that time Tacubaya was called 
Atlacoloayan, the '' place in the bend of the stream;" 
but after its settlement by the Spaniards it became 
known as Tacubaya de los Martires. 

The principal church is that of San Diego, but the 
parish church and the old monastery of the Dominicans 
are worthy of a visit. The one-time palace of the Arch- 
bishop of Mexico was afterwards used as the National 
Astronomical Observatory. The palace was built in 1737 
by the Archbishop and Viceroy Vizarron. Before its 
removal to Chapultepec the National Military Academy 
occupied this palace. 

The Alameda and the Plaza de Cartagena are pretty 
places, with trees, flowers and fountains. In the west 
part of the city are the quaint old mills of Santo Domingo, 
and near them the Arbol Benito, '' the blessed tree." 
The story goes that a monk passing that way was wearied 
and so rested was he under the grateful shade that he 



186 AROUND THE VALLEY 

blest the tree and bade it be always green. Immediately 
there came from its roots a spring of cold clear water. 
That this is true, you may see that the tree is ever green, 
and the brook goes on forever. 

Tacubaya has been called the Monte Carlo of Mexico, 
and not inaptly so. There was gambling there by gam- 
blers of all sorts, sizes, ages and conditions, on the streets, 
under the white umbrellas, in booths under the trees, 
where you may wager a penny or a peso. In the gardens 
were games that savor of Monte Carlo indeed. There 
were tables for monte, rouge et noir, or any game you 
please. The tables were crowded all the time, particu- 
larly in the evening ; ^vhen the stakes were high, as much 
as twenty and thirty thousand silver dollars were on 
the tables at one time. There are dozens of rooms in 
one garden, for games, refreshment, music and dancing, 
while the gardens are lighted with many colored lights 
that make the scene one of enchantment. Bull fights and 
cock fights are the other attractions of this intensely 
interesting town. 

LA VIGA CANAL 

The Canal of La Viga is a navigable waterway for 
traffic between the city and the outlying towns and vil- 
lages on the shores of Lakes Chalco and Xochimilco, 
flowing from those lakes to Lake Texcoco, and does not, 
as is popularly supposed, take in any drainage or sewer- 
age from the city; the water coming from the south to 
the eastern district of the city passes northeasterly to 
Lake Texcoco; it is a murky-looking water, but is not 
nearly so murky as it looks; taken up in the hand or 
vessel, it is as clear as it comes from the lake. The boats 
of La Viga are different from the boats of any other 
canal, and there are different styles of boats on La Viga, 
ranging from the dug-out canoe of the Chinampas to the 
flat-bottom freight boat propelled by poles in the hands 
of strong arms, a sort of Armstrong motor, and side- 



AROUND THE VALLEY 187 

wheel steamers of antiquated design. All classes carry- 
passengers, with their donkeys and dogs, these latter 
being indispensable accompanists to the passenger, since 
each is an owner of part of the cargo of wood, charcoal 
or garden truck, and must have the burro to make a 
delivery at the port of destination, and the dog — well, 
the dog just goes along from force of habit, or an innate 
aversion to being left behind, and alone, because the 
family comes to town with its head and the house is 
closed till they return. One of these long, low, rakish 
craft from the other shores of Chalco and Xochimilco is 
a sight to see, at once a freighter and a floating menag- 
erie, as there are other live stock besides the dogs and 
donkeys, in the shape of goats, sheep, ducks, and chickens. 
The boats bring the provender for man and beast in a 
city of nearly half a million of people, and largely supply 
the city with fuel, the boats bringing it to the landing 
places and the burros making the delivery throughout 
the city. 

But there are boats for passengers, and for tourists 
to Santa Anita, Mexicalcingo, San Juanico, Ixtacalco, 
and las chinampas, the floating gardens. These boats are 
a Mexican edition of the gondola, and with a Mexican 
gondolier in the bow, using a pole instead of a paddle. 
These gondolas are as picturesque in a way as the 
Venetian sort, not as graceful, perhaps, but sui generis, 
in a class of their own, a wide, flat bottom batteau, like 
an old-fashioned country ferryboat; there are low seats 
on each side running lengthwise, from end to end, under 
a canopy with gaudy-colored curtains. 

The start on the voyage does not impress favorably, 
but as it proceeds it grows interesting, especially after 
passing the Garita, where the municipal duties were 
collected from incoming freighters ; thence the wide, open 
canal is alive with queer little craft, the long, narrow 
canoes darting here and there among the larger ones, the 
little pleasure boats with their passengers squatted under 



188 AROUND THE VALLEY 

the grass-woven canopies, and the larger boats coming 
from or going to Xochimilco and Chalco with their car- 
goes of men, women, children, burros, dogs, wood, char- 
coal and garden truck; then there are little bumboat 
canoes with dusky '' Little Buttercups " to come along- 
side your boat, with the cleanest-looking baskets covered 
with the whitest of drawn-work cloths, under which are 
the native sandwiches, tortillas, tamales, con came or 
con dulce, that, no matter how they may have seemed else- 
where, here look temptingly toothsome. Any day will 
do for the voyage to Santa Anita and much will be seen 
that you never saw before, but on a Sunday or a feast 
day there will be more life on the canal and in the 
villages. 

VILLAGE OF SANTA ANITA 

Santa Anita is a straggling village of thatched houses, 
a relic of primitive times almost under the shadow of the 
towers of the metropolitan city, a pleasure resort of the 
middle and lower classes, where every house is an open 
one, fonda, restaurant or pulque shop, with thatched 
bowers over the seats and tables of the revellers. 

" When your boat is anchored under a great tree at 
Santa Anita," says Mr. Reau Campbell, '' go ashore 
and pass up the street from the canal to the little old 
church and beyond to a forlorn little plaza, where there 
are some swings and some more f ondas and pulque shops, 
and you will find the canoes to take you through the 
sluices of the floating gardens. These gardens have no 
walks and must be floated through, which would entitle 
them to their name, even if they were not really floating 
gardens, as they were in the olden times when the 
chinampas grew the fruits and flowers for Montezuma 
and the Aztec tzins; now they are flower and vegetable 
beds to supply the city markets. It is worth the while 
of the trip if it were only to see the acres and acres of 
poppies, whence the natives garland themselves and their 



ABOUND THE VALLEY 189 

houses on feast days, and of which yon may bring away 
a boat load for a real. 

" On the going or the retnrn trip a stop should be 
made at the hacienda of Juan Corona. While he lived, 
Don Juan's house was yours; his was a hospitable roof, 
and it remains to-day in happy memory with open doors. 
Don Juan was a great man in his day, as valiant as he 
was good and charitable, not a soldier, nor yet padre or 
a missionary; his life was full of brave deeds and good 
works. Don Juan was a bull-fighter on Sundays and 
feast days, and a philanthropist all the week, as if he 
would make six days of charity balance his account of 
questionable sport on Sunday. His pleasure was the 
care of the children of the poor, till he was called the 
father of the destitute, when he established a school for 
his wards that is still maintained in one of the rooms of 
his house. The old Don's hobby was less of tauromachy 
than the collection of curios, and his house is a monu- 
ment to the memory of that hobby; every room is a 
museum in itself. Pass through the open door ; no invita- 
tion is needed, and there is none to stop your way. "Within 
the patio of trees, flowers and climbing vines is a stone 
stairway leading to an upper gallery; the curios com- 
mence on the stairway and continue through all the 
house. Pass around the gallery to the far side of the 
patio and enter through the kitchen, the quaintest, clean- 
est kitchen in the world; then through the dining-room, 
bed chamber and parlor, coming out again onto the 
gallery at the stairs, where you may enter the school- 
room and see a school wholly unlike any other. As a 
visitor enters, the bright little beneficiaries of Corona's 
bounty rise in respectful salutation and welcome. The 
school has not the ample means it had in the life of good 
old Don Juan, and any offering is not only to a worthy 
charity, but a tribute to the memory of a good man. 

** It will take longer to see all in the quaint old house 
than to write it down, since it is impossible to do it com- 



190 AEOUND THE VALLEY 

pletely. In the kitchen is the old-fashioned cooking- 
place built of brick, around it and on all the walls are 
the utensils of earthenware, and in the dining-room the 
table and its appurtenances are as quaintly curious. But 
it is in the other rooms where are the curios and relics, 
of every age and era of Mexico's history back to prehis- 
toric times; idols from the Pyramids of the Sun and 
Moon at San Juan Teotihuacan ; weapons, plumes, shields 
and war dresses of the Aztecs, a cigar case, pistol and 
sword of the patriot-priest Hidalgo; the bed in which 
General Santa Anna died; some pieces from the table 
service of the Emperor Maximilian and one of the mus- 
kets with which he was shot ; the rifle of General Miramon 
used at Queretaro ; a fine collection of chicaras, chocolate 
cups painted by the Indians of Michoacan: very curious 
and ancient costumes of the bull-ring, among which is one 
used by the Spanish matador, Bernardo Gavino, when 
he was killed in the ring at Texcoco ; ancient Chinese and 
Japanese armor; paintings of religious subjects and 
scenes from the bull ring ; portraits of Don Juan and his 
wife and of Mexican celebrities ; a collection of bird eggs, 
stuffed animals, two immense bowls or platters with the 
portraits of Maximilian and Carlotta ; old tapestries and 
silken shawls; rugs of the skins of wild beasts, and a 
thousand and one other curious things collected in a long 
lifetime, of which no complete list or description may be 
made, but each article is in its place just as Don Juan left 
them when he died." 



CHAPTER XV 
A MEXICAN BULLFIGHT 

Bullfighting is still by far the most popular amusement 
of Mexico. The spirit of tauromachy inherited from old 
Spain lives in the modern bull ring or Plaza de Toros, 
according to Mr. Reau Campbell, the noted traveler, 
whose graphic description of the methods of the '' cruel 
sport " is reproduced below. 

An honest effort has been made by the government to 
stop the sport by the enactment of laws interdicting the 
functions in the federal district and other metropolitan 
localities, but the laws were repealed as often as enacted, 
so great was the pressure of popular demand from the 
masses, and notwithstanding the influence and example 
of non-attendance of the best people, the Plaza de Toros 
is easily the most liberally patronized amusement in 
Mexico. 

** The better the day the better the deed " may not be 
a Mexican maxim, but the better days are given over to 
the bull fight. Sundays and feast days are chosen, and 
on no other day are the plazas open. 

The Plaza de Toros is the bull ring — a great circular 
building of stone or wood with an interior that is an 
immense amphitheater seating thousands of people. The 
seats are in tiers rising to the top where the private 
boxes are, and as there is no roof except over the outer 
circle shading the boxes, there is a shady side called 
^' sombra " and a sunny side, *' sol," with prices in 
accordance with the location, from 25 to 50 cents in the 
sun and $1 to $3 in the shade, the private boxes with 

191 



192 A MEXICAN BULLFIGHT 

eight to ton chairs cost from $12 to $20, according to the 
reputation of the company giving the performance, ?is 
they vary greatly as the stars and support in a theatrical 
troupe, and what may be the price when only local talent 
is on the bills will be largely increased when a star 
matador and his company are underlined. Tickets may 
be bought at the gates, but it is always best to buy them 
in advance, usually at some cigar store frequented by the 
toreadores or at the city offices of the bull ring, the loca- 
tions of which are announced in the advertisements. 

rOEM OF THE BING 

The ring itself is an arena about a hundred feet in 
diameter encircled by a strong board fence about five 
feet high with a foot rail on the inside two feet from 
the ground. This is to assist a torero too closely pursued 
by the bull to escape by a leap over the fence to the 
passageway that extends around the ring between the 
fence and the seats. But it is not always an escape, since 
the bull often leaps the barrier in pursuit of his tormentor 
or to get away from him, and at intervals in the passage- 
way short barriers are placed just far enough from the 
wall to admit the body of the man and not wide enough 
for the bull's horns. There are gates that open into the 
ring and at the same time close the passage and thus 
the bull is forced to return to the ring. 

There is a '* president " to preside at each corrida, or 
performance, to direct the details and to decide all differ- 
ences of opinion between the people and the performers. 
There are always questions to be decided, and the presi- 
dent, usually a state or municipal officer, must be a man 
of executive ability and well posted in tauromachy. His 
seat is in a gorgeously decorated box near the center of 
the shady side, and when he enters, with a staff of high-up, 
well-known lovers of the sport, it is the signal for much 
cheering, especially so if he is a president whose decisions 
have been favorable to the people. 




Plaza at Guanajuato, with La France Hotel in background 




Flower Market in the Plaza Mayor, Mexico City 




Hull of the Petrilicd I\Iuniniic'!s in the Catacombs, Guanajuato 




A hall in the National Museum, City of Mexico 




Play of the Capes — Typical scenes in the Plaza de Toros. City of Mexico 




Enia<jino the Bull 



A MEXICAN BULLFIGHT 193 

DUTIES OP THE PRESIDENT 

The president has the general direction of the corrida, 
when he is ready the company must be, and when he has 
given his permission for the bulls to be killed then the 
killing commences. A bugler stands at the president's 
side to call the signals to remove the horses, or a bull 
that may prove too tame, to call the banderilleros and 
announce the killing of the buU. Hence it may be seen 
how easily a president may be popular or unpopular with 
the masses, as he may or may not give them quite enough 
of bloody action on the scene. Any deviation from the 
program must be with the consent and approval of the 
president, and the performance cannot end until he is 
satisfied that the advertisement has been carried out. 

There is music by one or more brass bands that may 
be heard by those sitting very near; the shouts and 
cat-calls of the canaille drown all semblance of music for 
those on the opposite side of the arena, but the musicians 
are there and you can see when they are playing. A 
company of soldiers stationed within call of the president 
with another company deployed about the arena do 
police duty, and try to prevent the too enthusiastic mem- 
bers of the audience from taking charge of the whole 
thing, throwing the seats into the ring, or other mild 
methods of evincing their disapproval of an act or presi- 
dential decision. The soldiers are rarely called into 
active service ; their presence has a wholesome effect, and 
while the mad enthusiast who would like to see a horse 
gored just once more, and gets madder because the presi- 
dent says there has been enough of it, feels like fighting 
the whole company, he is usually pacified by a gentle 
touch on the shoulder by the gendarme and growlingly 
subsides. 

BEILLIANT AND THEILLING SCENE 

The scene is a brilliant one and the tension of nerves 
is great in anticipation of what is to come; the feeling 



194 A MEXICAN BULLFIGHT 

is one of amazement and anxious expectation. The bands 
are playing, or seem to be, and the thousands of impatient 
spectators are shouting, whistling and yelling themselves 
hoarse. There may be five thousand people, but there is 
noise enough, and seats too, for twenty thousand, and if 
there is a star matador they will all be occupied. The 
president and his companions are in their places, and the 
applause grows greater as the gates on the other side of 
the arena open to admit a gaily costumed horseman 
mounted on a splendid horse ; he is the alguazil; he rides 
directly to the front of the president's box and asks per- 
mission to kill the bulls. 

Permission granted, the president tosses to him the 
key of the toril, which he catches, and gallops back to 
receive the company. If he catches the key there is 
applause ; if he misses it, a storm of hisses. 

The gate opens again and the coming of the gay com- 
pany is loudly announced with a grand flourish of 
trumpets. It is a brilliant spectacle, this company of 
nimble-footed athletes in costumes of silk and satin, gold 
and velvet, as they march quickly across the arena to 
make their obeisance to the president and then to the 
audience. 

OEDEE OP THE PROCESSION 

First in the gay procession come the matadores or 
espadas, the stars of the company, who handle the swords 
to the death of the bulls; next the banderilleros, second 
only to the matadores in the profession ; these gentlemen 
are they who place the handerillas in the bull's shoulders ; 
and then the capeadores, third in rank, who hope to be 
banderilleros and some day matadores, but now have only 
to manipulate the capes to distract the bull's attention or 
place him in proper position for the banderilla or the 
sword. The picadores follow on horseback, their long 
lances in hand. Then four mules, gaily caparisoned, har- 
nessed together and driven to an arrangement of traces 



A MEXICAN BULLFIGHT 195 

for dragging out dead bulls and horses. Behind these 
two men with wheelbarrows, shovels, rakes and brooms, 
for cleaning up the ring, and then the attendants, ^' sahios 
monos," the wise monkeys, as they are called from their 
good suggestion and advice to the performers — diestros, 
toreros or toreadores as the bull-fighters are called. 

The toreador is recognized on the street by a costume 
as distinctly his own as the one of silk and satin, gold and 
velvet that he wears in the ring; it is a short " round- 
about " jacket with very tight trousers; the hat has a 
straight stiff brim with a low flat top felt crown; under 
the rim of the hat is a little queue of plaited hair, called 
a coleta; what this is for does not appear, but if any 
oifense against the ethics of the sport is committed this 
queue is cut off, so the possession of it may be regarded 
as a reward of merit, that when a torero is retired is cut 
off with a scissors of gold. 

Proceeding to the president's box, and having received 
his acknowledgments, the company parades around the 
arena to receive the plaudits of the people. 

COMING OF THE BULL 

Now all is ready, the beautiful capes of satin and 
velvet are thrown to admirers in the audience, for it is 
an honor to hold a toreador's cape; as they are not used 
in the ring, cheaper and stronger capes of bright-colored 
oil-cloth are taken instead. Everyone except the toreros 
have left the ring and for a brief moment there is com- 
plete silence. The bugle sounds. All eyes are turned to 
a low door on the other side that is suddenly thrown open. 
From a dark stall beyond the bull is coming. As he 
passes under the rail a barbed steel point covered with 
flowing ribbons is placed in his shoulder; the colors of 
these ribbons indicate the ranche or hacienda from 
whence he came, as the bulls are bred on certain farms 
for their fighting qualities, and your smallest sport can 
pick out a good fighter when he sees the ribbons as easily 



196 A MEXICAN BULLFIGHT 

as a Kentucky boy does the winner in a horse race by the 
colors of the jockey's jacket. 

The bull comes from a dark stall where he has been 
kept previous to the fight, finding the gates suddenly 
opened and a possible way of escape, gallops through a 
scarcely less dark passage that leads him to the open 
arena and to certain death. Startled by the pricking of 
the steel dart in his shoulder and maddened by its sting- 
ing he bounds forward to the center of the ring, where, 
with head up and tail lashing the air, he stops a second. 

It is a magnificent sight now before the carnage begins. 
The splendid animal stands and bids defiance as he 
throws the dust over his back, pawing and shaking his 

shaggy head with mingled rage, surprise, and fear, per- 
haps but little of fear, for in a second he has decided upon 
a plan of attack. 

2Sr0 ESCAPE FOR THE HORSE 

The shouting thousands and the blare of trumpets 
would frighten a more fearless beast, but if it scares the 
bull there is no hint of it in his action. A look to right 
or left and the unequal fight is on. The throwing of a 
cape in front of him and the thrower is chased to the 
barrier around the ring and the man is over it none too 
quickly, as he may believe when he hears the boards crack- 
ing behind him as a pair of sharp horns are thrust 
through them as if they were paper. Foiled here, the 
bull turns about and finds a horse in his way, a poor 
broken down horse, with eyes blindfolded that he may 
not see his danger. 

There is no way of escape for the horse ; his rider spurs 
him on, and while the picador with his lance may for a 
moment turn the bull and save the horse, it is but 
deferring the inevitable for the time. Passing by this 
horse the bull finds another on the other side; this time 
the horse does not fare so well; the bull rushes upon 
him with all his might, the sharp horns sink into his 



A MEXICAN BULLFIGHT 197 

flesli as needles into a piece of cloth, tlie horse is lifted 
bodily into the air and tossed over on the ground with 
the rider underneath perhaps. 

A capeador throws a cape over the bull's face, distracts 
his attention from the fallen picador and wounded, or 
more probably dead horse. The capeador deftly leads 
him to the other horse that just now escaped, but now his 
time has come; the bull has learned that the horse is 
defenseless, the pricking of the picador's lance is nothing. 
While it is intended that the bull should be held off and 
the horse saved it is rarely done, and this one is disem- 
boweled — it may be that if he does not die in his tracks 
he is ridden on around the ring dragging his intestines 
under his feet, only to be gored again and again till he 
is dead, for without the blood of the horses no bull fight 
is complete. The two horses slain, or so badly disabled 
that they cannot be ridden, the bugle sounds, and unless 
the president panders to the clamor of the crowd for 
more horses the first act with the first bull is over and 
the banderilleros are ready. 

AN" INTEEESTING FEATUEE 

Now comes the really artistic and interesting feature 
of the bull fight, the placing of the handerillas. The 
handerilla is a dart about two feet long with a sharp 
barbed point and covered with fancy colored paper or 
ribbons. The banderillero, a man without cape or means 
of defense, takes two handerillas, one in each hand, walks 
out in front of the bull, holding them up, shaking the 
ribbons to call the bull towards him, and as he approaches 
the darts are placed in his shoulders where the barbs 
cause them to hang as if they were for ornaments instead 
of goads to further rage and madness. The man is an 
athlete and a nimble one. It is the rule that the darts 
must not be thrust except while the bull is in action and 
on the attack, so it must be done quickly. 

It is said that the bull in the moment of attack closes 



198 A MEXICAN BULLFIGHT 

bis eyes, so it is but a quick decision of tbe instant to 
tbrust tbe darts, step to one side, and tbe bull passes by, 
only to find anotber banderillero on tbe otber side witb 
anotber pair of banderillas for bis furtber decoration. 
Anotber rule is tbat tbe banderillas must not be placed 
back of tbe sboulder. If tbey are properly placed and so 
firmly tbat tbey are not sbaken out, loud and long is tbe 
applause, otberwise tbe bisses are sbrill and sbarp. Tbe 
banderillero is a favorite witb tbe lover of tauromacby 
as well as witb tbe first-timers at tbe figbt. It seems witb 
bis lack of defense, and depending entirely on bis agility 
be is tbe bero in tbis contest between buman skill and 
brute force, so tbat it is often tbe matador comes back 
from bis advanced position as a star, mucb to tbe deligbt 
of tbe audience, to try bis band and tbrust an extra pair 
of banderillas. 

In all well-regulated companies tbere are two banderil- 
leros, eacb witb two pairs of banderillas, making eigbt 
in all, tbat, if tbeir work is well done, are banging from 
tbe bull's sboulders, and tbe president's bugler announces 
tbe end of second act and calls tbe matador to kill tbe 
bull. 

THE STAE PEEFOBMEE 

As tbe star in some great drama is received witb 
plaudits as be enters upon tbe stage, so is tbe matador 
witb sbouts and tbrowing of bats, tbat is, if be is indeed 
a star matador known to kill bis bulls witb a single stroke 
of tbe sword. Tbe matador takes bis sword and muleta, 
and wbile tbe capeadores are leading tbe bull to furtber 
weariness on tbe otber side of tbe ring, advances to tbe 
front of tbe president's box, bat in band, dedicates tbe 
bull to sometbing or somebody, some state or county, 
some man, or girl, and tells tbe president tbat be will kill 
tbe bull in tbe most approved style, tben, tossing bis cap 
to an admirer in tbe sbady seats, proceeds to do bis part, 
or after saluting tbe president, be may cross to tbe 



A MEXICAN BULLFIGHT 199 

sunny side, as it is sometimes well to cater to the rabble, 
and tell the people there that he will kill the bull in their 
especial style and toss his cap there to be held in great 
honor while he does it. 

DEATH OF THE BULL 

Then advancing toward the bull, the matador holds in 
his right hand a long, perfectly straight, sharp-pointed, 
keen-edged sword; in his left he carries the muleta, the 
** red rag '* of the Spanish bull fight, and used only in 
the last act, in the killing of the bull. The muleta is a 
piece of red flannel three or four feet square, held on a 
stick, near the ground and in front of the bull, kept in a 
fluttering motion before his eyes, which seems to infuriate 
further the already enraged animal. He lowers his head 
and makes a rush for the muleta, which is held, although 
in the left hand, across to the right of the matador; this 
gives him a fair play for the stroke of the sword, and as 
the bull lowers his head to attack the *' red rag " the 
right hand of the matador drives the sword to the hilt 
into the bull's shoulders, or between them, cutting the 
spinal cord or piercing the heart, which if it has been 
well done brings the bull to his knees and he lies down to 
die, but it may not be death until the * * stroke of mercy ' ' 
has been given by the cachetero, an attendant with a 
short dagger — who comes from behind and gives the bull 
a quick, sure thrust between the horns to instantaneous 
death. 

DKAGGIFG OUT THE DEAD 

While this is being done the matador is bowing his 
acknowledgments to an enthusiastic audience, who have 
gone wild and thrown their hats, canes, coats, cigars and 
coin into the ring; the hats, canes and coats are thrown 
back to their owners, but the cigars and coin are kept for 
future reference. But — if the killing has been bungled 
and the espada's work not well done, then instead of 



200 A MEXICAN BULLFIGHT 

canes, hats and cigars the disapproving enthusiast pulls 
up the boards, and with the chairs and anything that is 
loose or that he can loosen, throws them into the ring. 
Pour mules gaily harnessed are then driven in, a chain 
fastened about the heels of the dead bull and he is 
dragged out. 

Even before the dead first bull has disappeared and the 
dead horses dragged out, the two picadores appear on 
other horses worse than the first, if possible, the bugle 
sounds again, and another bull bounds into the ring to 
meet the fate of the first; after the second another and 
another till five or six are killed, and if you have been 
there you are to be the judge whether your Sunday after- 
noon has been well spent. 

The upper classes, as a rule, do not frequent the bull- 
ring, though there are many and brilliant exceptions; 
you may see on the Paseo in the city of Mexico almost 
any day the most elegant equipages on that grand boule- 
vard among whose occupants are little children dressed in 
the full ring costume of the toreador. The Mexican small 
boy plays at bull-fighting as the American does at base- 
ball, or as the more sporty one puts on the gloves with 
his fellows — is it then any wonder that the custom pre- 
vails since the children are taught to admire it? 



CHAPTER XVI 
RANCHES AND RANCHING 

In Mexico, every large plot of land used for agricul- 
tural purposes, or for cattle grazing, is known as a ranch 
or '' hacienda." In the majority of instances the haci- 
endas are devoted to the grazing of cattle and the raising 
of agricultural products in conjunction with one another. 

Farms which in the United States would be considered 
unusually large, placed beside these Mexican ranches 
would shrink into insignificance. In America a ranch 
of 60,000 acres is considered exceptional. In Mexico a 
ranch covering 100,000 acres is considered relatively 
small. They range from this figure up into the millions 
of acres under one man's ownership. There are farms 
in Mexico employing 10,000 laborers and covering terri- 
tories as large as some of our New England states. 
Mexico is the country of vast landed proprietors, the 
whole of the country being controlled and practically 
owned through indeterminate grants from the govern- 
ment to a relatively small number of land barons. 

THE MEXICAN TABLE-LANDS 

The great mass of the farming and ranching territory 
consists of an elevated plateau formed by the expansion 
of the Cordilleras of Central America, from which ter- 
race slopes descend with more or less rapid inclination 
towards the Atlantic on the east and the Pacific on the 
west. It is on these slopes, too, that great haciendas have 
been built up. The wealth of the higher land lies in its 
wonderful silver and gold mines and in the immense value 

201 



202 RANCHES AND RANCHING 

of its forests of precious woods. The table lands of 
Mexico lie at elevations of from 5,000 to more than 9,000 
feet above the sea level and they exhibit great variations 
of land and soil. Rising out from these plateaus are 
some of the highest volcanoes in the world. The most 
famous of these is the volcano of Popocatapetl, or The 
Smoking Mountain, whose peak is 17,880 feet above the 
sea level. 

The principal chain of mountains intersecting this 
table land is the Sierra Madre range, in which lie the 
chief gold and silver mines of the country. Lesser ranges 
break up the Pacific slope of the plateau and cut the land 
with deeply cleft ravines of astonishing magnificence. 
Up these ravines and all over the west coast during cer- 
tain periods of the hot season there blow storms of 
exceeding violence, and it is during these months, also, 
that the climate of the coast is exceedingly prejudicial 
to persons of the white races, although during recent 
years knowledge of preventive medicine and preventive 
sanitation, and the exercise of greater care in the choice 
of drinking water, have done much to lower the death 
rate among the whites who remain in the lower lands dur- 
ing the hot season. 

In the far southern part of the country, in the Penin- 
sula of Yucatan, science has been unable to check the 
ravages of fevers which attack the natives almost as 
readily as the whites. Weakened by the brutal slave- 
driving which the laborers undergo, the terrible diseases 
attack the emaciated frames of the workers and they are 
killed off by fevers in appalling numbers annually. 

But to return to ranching as it is carried out in the 
more favored parts of Mexico : 

MANY VEGETABLE PEODUCTS 

"While the staple farm products raised on these great 
ranches are comparatively few in number, the differences 



EANCHES AND RANCHING 203 

in altitude that may be found in Mexico permit the grow- 
ing of almost all the vegetable products that may be 
found between the equator and the pole. In Mexico, in 
the course of a few hours, a traveler may experience 
every gradation of climate, embracing torrid heat and 
glacial cold, and a pass through different gradations of 
vegetation, including wheat and sugar cane, apples, olives 
and guavas. 

The Spaniards on their first visit to Mexico distin- 
guished its climatic divisions under three heads : Tierras 
Calientes (hot or littoral lands), Tierras Templadas (tem- 
perate lands), and Tierras Frias (cold or high lands). 
The mean annual heat of the hot lands is 77 degrees, and 
the soil, which is generally fertile, produces corn, tobacco, 
bananas, oranges, pineapples, and other fruits and vege- 
tables which grow under similar climatic conditions. 

The tract of which mention will be made later as a 
great slave district, knows only two seasons, the hot and 
the dry; the winter, or season of north winds, and the 
summer, or season of breezes. It is during the season 
first named that there occur the terrific storms that yearly 
pass over parts of Mexico and are known as *' northers." 
The one redeeming feature of this season is that at this 
time the coastal regions are free of the ravages of yellow 
fever. 

It is in the medium elevations that some of the most 
productive farms are found, and it is certainly on these 
that the best class of laborers are found to work the farms 
and there live the best class of townsmen. The tempera- 
ture is extremely equable, varying from 70 degrees to 
80 degrees as the greatest heat. Water is plentiful and 
fairly pure, and crops grow vigorously. 

To call the third division '' cold " from our northern 
standpoint is a misnomer, but from the standpoint of 
tropical countries the thermometer falls considerably 
lower than is generally experienced so near the equator. 
The average temperature is approximately 66 degrees, 



204 RANCHES AND RANCHING 

falling at times considerably below this figure, and during 
the hot months it rises much higher. 

CONDITIONS OF LABOR 

The condition of the laborer ranges from a state of 
comparative freedom in the northern part of the country 
to one of partial serfdom as one progresses south, and 
finally in Yucatan and neighboring territories the state 
of the laborer is reduced to actual slavery — and slavery 
of the cruelest sort. Men, women and children there are 
literally worked to death, and if they fail to meet the 
demands made on them by their owners it is no uncom- 
mon thing to have the slaves stretched out by their hands 
and feet and flogged until they are dead. 

In the more northern territories, however, the treat- 
ment of the peons who do the work on the ranches is more 
humane, but in the end it amounts to little more than a 
system of contract labor which places the laborer in a 
position of virtual ownership by the managers of the 
haciendas. 

It is practically impossible to buy tracts of land in 
Mexico with a clear title, but it is not difficult for for- 
eigners to persuade the Mexican land barons to lease for 
a given number of years parts of their own immense 
tracts of land. American capital having secured a lease 
on the land, the owners find already on the territory 
families occupying the acres and in the possession of 
crude adobe houses and crude instruments for purposes 
of tilling the soil. The more wealthy of the peons might 
possibly own an ox or two, but in their absence all of the 
labor on the plot is done by hand. 

AMERICAN managers' METHODS 

Taking possession of the main buildings standing in 
the center of the territory acquired by lease, the new 
managers go among the peons and offer this proposition : 

** We," the managers say, *' will provide you with 



EANCHES AND EANCHING 205 

modern instruments for plowing and cutting and reaping 
yonr grain crops, but at the same time you must give us 
your promise that you will turn over to us all of the 
grain that you reap from the tracts of land you occupy. 
In return for this a certain percentage of your debt to 
us on account of the farming tools will be wiped out. At 
the same time you will be allowed credit at the company 
store for the value of the grain in excess of the install- 
ment payment you have made on the machinery given 
you. ' ' 

The company owning the hacienda is by this means 
relieved of the responsibility of superintending the grow- 
ing of the crops. The running of the concern becomes 
largely a matter of bookkeeping. The grain turned into 
the company by the laborers on the farm is paid for at 
from one-third to one-half its market value. The expense 
of storing, however, and shipping to markets where there 
is a sale for it is borne by the company's officers. 

PAYMENT FOR THE CROPS 

On many of the haciendas, however, instead of payment 
for the crops being made in credit at the company's store, 
the laborers are given cash for their produce. But in the 
end it works out in the same way, because of the fact that 
the only place peons have an opportunity to spend their 
money is at the company's store. The money, therefore, 
eventually finds its way back to the pockets of the haci- 
enda owners. At the same time, in this return of the 
money to their pockets a considerable profit is reaped, 
because the prices charged at the company's stores allow 
a wide margin of profit. 

PLAN SUITS THE PEONS 

Strange as it may seem, the Mexican on the better 
regulated ranches of this sort is perfectly contented with 
his lot. Through the presence there of American capital, 
he is enabled to get credit, or money, and hence is able to 



206 EANCHES AND EANCHING 

make purchase of things which to us might seem humble 
enough, yet to him are luxuries. The better equipment 
he gets enables him to get through his day's labor with a 
little less effort than under the old regime. His home, 
a humble adobe building most likely, plain as it may be 
on the outside, yet within is added to here and there with 
simple comforts that, without the presence in the district 
of American capital, he would utterly lack. He marries 
and raises a family of children under conditions in the 
northern part of the country, at least, which are in some 
points of view enviable. The system has the advantage 
that while a peon may never possibly rise to any great 
level of wealth and certainly not to social position, yet 
through persistent effort he may provide for the com- 
forts of himself and family in direct proportion to the 
labor, industry and intelligence he puts into the cultiva- 
tion of his little farm. 

LIVING FKOM HAND TO MOUTH 

The lower-class Mexicans themselves are a slow, easy- 
going folk, crushed by so many years of oppression into 
dogged servility, but when in a fight among themselves 
they have no great fear of death, as, indeed, what of great 
value is there for them to live for 1 They live from hand 
to mouth and from day to day, having apparently little 
care for the morrow. 

Daily wages, when labor is paid for in cash, amounts 
to about 35 cents a day in United States currency. Among 
the laborers the clothes worn are of the simplest kind, 
a pair of trousers, a shirt and a hat, and maybe a pair 
of sandals. These are used where the character of the 
ground they are to travel over is rough, or is likely to 
be infested by the many kinds of cactus growths with 
which the country abounds. 

The men are usually paid once a week, on Sunday, but 
they invariably have contracted debts during the week 
equaling or amounting to more than the total of their 



RANCHES AND RANCHING 207 

weekly wage. The result is that a few minutes after they 
have been paid they are penniless again and are borrow- 
ing or opening charge accounts once more at the com- 
pany's stores. 

ONE EESTJLT OF EAISING WAGES 

A characteristic story is told of an American who 
started a tobacco plantation near Mazatlan in the terri- 
tory of Tepic, and after the initial start had been made 
commenced reaping big profits from his investment. The 
men doing the actual work on the tobacco fields at this 
time were receiving approximately 35 cents a day. The 
American, in a spirit of generosity, decided to let his 
employes share in some measure in his profits and he 
raised the pay of the men from 35 cents a day to a dollar 
and a half. This was done shortly prior to the time the 
tobacco was to be harvested and the American made the 
increase in pay in anticipation of the profits he was to 
make on the season's work. 

He paid the men off on Sunday morning, and one by 
one they gradually disappeared until the three or four 
Americans on the hacienda were the only human beings 
on it. The following morning, when the call was made 
for the men to get into the fields, there were none present 
to take care of the harvest. They did not appear that 
day and the American made frantic but unsuccessful 
efforts to get other men to go into the fields and cut the 
tobacco, which had just reached the proper stage in its 
growth for harvesting. He was unable to do so, and in 
the due course of time the wet season came around, the 
dried leaves were soaked, and the whole crop became a 
total loss. 

Five weeks later, almost to a day, the hundred or more 
employes of the hacienda who had vanished re-appeared 
on the ranch and announced that they were ready to go 
to work. 

*' You fools! " cried the American, addressing them. 



208 RANCHES AND RANCHING 

* ' Don 't you know that the crop time has come and gone 
and that the whole harvest is lost. Where have you been? 
Why should you have gone and treated me in this way 
just at a time when I gave you a great increase in your 
pay? " 

^* That was just it,'* responded the leader of the men. 
'* Senor was so good as to pay us five times as much as 
we were getting before, so what was the use of our going 
to work again until all the money had been spent ? ' ' 

HOW THE OWNEKS LIVE 

The owners and managers of these large ranches live 
in great adobe buildings in something of the grandeur 
of ancient feudal lords. Mexican housemen or '' mozos " 
attend to every want of their employers and life is made 
exceedingly easy for the management. While the owners 
of the hacienda are up and at work early in the morning 
— almost as early as their employes — from two to four 
hours during the middle of the day is set aside as a time 
of rest for both the laborers and the managers. From 
half past eleven in the morning until 2 :30 to 3 :30 p. m., 
during the greatest heat of the day, the whole human 
population of the ranch — and the animals as well — 
take their daily '' siesta." 

PEON SLAVEKY IN THE SOUTH 

While the lot of the peon in the northern part of 
Mexico is not so bad as it has often been pictured, in the 
southern part, in the states of Yucatan and Campeche 
and in the territory of Quintana Roo, the peon is in a 
state of absolute slavery and the treatment accorded him 
by his masters is such as to rival the ill treatment of 
slaves and captives in the most barbarous times of the 
world's history. The Peninsula of Yucatan is an elbow 
of Central America which shoots off in a northeasterly 
direction almost half way to Florida. The peninsula is 
some 80,000 square miles in area and embraces the two 




Foyer of the Juarez Theater 




Juarez Theater, said to be the finest in America 



iiifiig^-'- 




Small farms in the valley on Mexican National Railway 




Scene on u Mexican hacienda 




Castle of Chapultepec in the Valley of Mexico 




Open top observation car of the Reau Campbell Tours, from which many 
of these illustrations were photographed 




Waterfall at the Bridge of the Gods, on the Mexican Central KR. 




At the Floating Gardens, La Viga Canal 



RANCHES AND EANCHING 209 

states and territories named, each of wMch is slightly 
in excess of 25,000 square miles in extent. Yucatan is 
about 1,000 miles directly south of New Orleans, La. 

The character of the country is such that almost noth- 
ing of an agricultural character will grow, yet the popu- 
lation of the country is more dense than that of the 
United States. The land is barren and rocky, but it is 
the scene of the production of henequen, or sisal hemp, 
from which binder twine and hemp rope are made. This 
territory furnishes the world's supply of this material. 

WHEEE SISAL HEMP GROWS 

Henequen itself is a variety of hardy cactus plant 
which has been found peculiarly adapted to growth in the 
strange rocky soil of Yucatan Peninsula. Rows and rows 
of the gigantic green plants extend for miles and miles, 
the farms being of immense size and each hacienda house 
being surrounded by a small city of employes or slaves 
who work the hemp plantations. The number of slaves 
employed on the farms varies from 400 to 2,500, accord- 
ing to the size of the plantation itself and the wealth of 
the men who are operating it. 

Nearly a quarter of a billion pounds of sisal hemp are 
annually exported from this tract of land. This vast 
amount is grown and harvested by an army of slaves who 
are under the absolute control of about 250 landowners. 

THE HENEQIJElSr KINGS 

The owners of these plar^ations have made themselves 
hugely wealthy. Greatest of all the henequen kings is 
Olegario Molina, former governor of the state of Yuca- 
tan, whose lands in Yucatan and Quintana Roo aggre- 
gate 15,000,000 acres. As slaves on these plantations, 
the Maya Indians constitute by far the greatest propor- 
tion. They number only a little under 100,000, while the 
Orient contributes about 4,000 slaves from Korea — and 



210 EANCHES AND RANCHING 

the number is rounded out by about 10,000 Yaqui Indians 
from Sonora. 

The Mayas who are now the slaves on the plantations 
were once the owners of the lands, but were deprived of 
their possessions and reduced to chattels by the powers 
which grabbed their lands. 

^' ENFOKCED SEKVICE FOR DEBT " 

Now, as a matter of fact, while the slavery practised 
in the Yucatan Peninsula is just as truly slavery as was 
ever practised in any country, the owners of the ranches 
do not admit that the men employed on their lands are 
slaves. They call it ** enforced service for debt." But 
once the man is put in this position he can be traded 
about and exchanged from plantation to plantation for a 
money consideration, just as much as any slave could 
have been bartered about in the old slave days in this 
country before the Civil AVar. 

The '^ price " of the laborers fluctuates according to 
the condition of the money market. A good price 
for a man to bring is $400, but in years when the har- 
vests are full, money is freely in circulation and there is 
a demand for men to take care of the henequen crops, 
landowners have been known to pay as much as $1,000 
for a good, able-bodied slave. With the Yaqui Indians, 
however, the price is low. This is because the sullen dis- 
position of the Indians, their quickness to anger, and not 
infrequently to kill their drivers, makes them much less 
desirable as slaves than are the more peaceable Mayas 
and Koreans. The price of the Yaquis is about $65. The 
slaves are mostly recruited from persons accused of some 
crime and arrested. Frequently the accusations are 
trumped up for the sole purpose of adding to the slave 
market. 

A BUREAU OF mENTIFICATION 

An identification bureau of all the slaves in the employ 
of the various ranches or plantations is kept mutually by 



RANCHES AND RANCHING 211 

all the slave-owners. The records kept are not unlike 
the record of identification kept in this country of crim- 
inals. Full-face and profile photographs of the various 
slaves are taken and notations made of any unusual mark- 
ings they possess, as well as a record of all the standard 
items of measurement, such as height, weight, hair, color 
and facial characteristics. These are kept on file accord- 
ing to a scheme built up by the plantation owners, and 
when any Maya, Korean or Yaqui is apprehended on 
suspicion that he might have escaped from some planta- 
tion, reference to this index is made, the slave identified, 
and returned to the owner from whose place he escaped. 
The theory of the *' service for debt " device by which 
the laborers are held is that upon their being turned over 
to the plantation a price agreed upon is given by the 
plantation owner to the man who transferred the laborer 
to him. Possession of the man is first secured by charg- 
ing him with some crime and arresting him. It is then 
the duty of the laborer to render service to his purchaser 
to a value equivalent to the sum which was paid for him. 
Sometimes in the towns the freeing of the laborer after 
a period of years is actually negotiated, but on the planta- 
tions they never secure their freedom. Once sold, they 
are the virtual slaves of their purchasers for life. 

NO HOPE FOR THE SLAVE 

An employer of a salaried man or a wage-earner as 
an incentive to work holds over the worker the possi- 
bility of discharge, and consequent loss of income, should 
the wage-earner not do his work in a manner to please 
his employer. In the Yucatan country, however, there is 
no such possible threat, because the worker earns no 
money. There the worker's happiest wish is that he may 
get *' fired," but no such luck ever befalls him. The 
suggestion that a cutting down of their food supply if 
they failed to do the work that was required of them 
would be an incentive to keep them at their tasks, does not 



212 RANCHES AND RANCHING 

liold good either, because the slave's food supply even 
under the best of circumstances is just large enough to 
keep him from starvation, and to cut it off further would 
result in nothing but the death of the laborer. So this 
cannot be used as a ' ' big stick ' ' over the slaves. 

One thing only remains — and that is physical punish- 
ment — which can be used to keep them driving at their 
work or to punish them for misconduct. And this form 
of *' incentive " is used freely and with terrible cruelty. 
One of the commonest forms of punishment is beating 
the slaves over their backs with wet ropes. The culprit 
in these instances is held on the back of a larger and 
more powerful slave while one of the overseers wields the 
lash with such force that each blow rips the slave 's back 
wide open. 

BEATINGS FOLLOWED BY DEATH 

In numerous cases of this sort the slaves have died 
under the beating, or have bled to death afterwards. Not 
infrequently infection sets in in the open wounds, and 
death comes to the slaves some weeks later, possibly in 
the agony of blood-poisoning. 

Another form of punishment for laziness — most often 
caused by a real sickness on the part of the slave — is 
to string them up by their thumbs, or to reverse this 
process and stringing them up by their big toes, let them 
hang head downward until they have become unconscious 
from pain and blood pressure. 

In general, the o^\Tiers of the plantations take no per- 
sonal interest in the punishments meted out to the slaves. 
But there are instances on record where the managers 
actually wielded the ropes over their chattels, and other 
instances where the managers stood by and with coarse 
jests directed the inflicting of the punishment, the while 
laughing brutally at the writhings of the poor devil under 
the lash. 

But the most terrible of all places in the peninsula is 



RANCHES AND RANCHING 213 

tlie Valle Nacional — known throughout the 80,000 square 
miles as the Valley of Death, Therein are located great 
tobacco plantations. The reputation of the valley is that 
no slave who enters this area of scenic marvel ever comes 
out alive. It is a place of terrible fevers, wonderful 
tropical scenery and death-dealing flies. The number of 
its slaves is ever needing to be augmented to take the 
places of those who fail and die. 

BKEAKING THE YAQUI SPIKIT 

One illustration will suffice to show the severity of the 
punishment meted out to slaves in Yucatan. 

The Yaqui Indians are noted in their native state for 
the pride they have in their race and the resentfulness 
they show to any suggestion of subservience on their part 
to the commands of a person not of their race. They 
are a bold, copper-skinned race that would stand along 
with any American Indian in bearing pain stoically, and 
refusing to acknowledge the superiority of another man ; 
but so terrible is the course of spirit-breaking that these 
Indians are put through in the first months of their stay 
on the slave ranches that it is a common sight to have 
these Indians so cowed in abject fear and broken in spirit 
that they will crawl upon hands and knees and like a dog 
lick the hand of the man who holds the lash which has 
been wielded over their backs. 

A TEEKIFIC BEATIlsTG 

A Mexican traveler returning recently from a visit to 
one of these sisal hemp ranches described a terrific beat- 
ing which he had seen meted out to a poor Yaqui Indian, 
whose only offense was that he had found himself physic- 
ally incapable of performing within the day the amount 
of work that had been required of him by the slave- 
drivers. 

" The laborers had lined up, several hundred of them, 
by a wall near their living quarters, awaiting instructions 



214 RANCHES AND RANCHING 

as to what they should do that day," said the traveler, 
" when one of the overseers called out the name of one 
of the Indian slaves. This man stepped out — a lithe- 
bodied man, straight of frame but not of great strength. 
At the same time the foreman motioned to an enormous 
Chinaman to step out and seize the Indian. The poor 
fellow knew then what was coming and he snarled and for 
a moment made a show of resistance, but soon he whipped 
off his shirt with a scornful gesture and stood bare- 
shouldered in the center of a hundred pairs of horror- 
stricken eyes. His back was already cut and ribbed with 
welts of previous beatings he had received. The great 
Chinaman caught the Indian by the wrists and with a 
jerk threw him over his shoulders as he would a sack 
of meal. 

*' The Chinaman then bent double until the Indian's 
back presented a taut surface, exposed to any lash that 
might be applied to it. Next a great brute of a man with 
an arm like a blacksmith's stepped forward and after 
carefully choosing one of several lengths of wet rope, 
stood off and laid the rope's end across the Indian's back 
with all his might. A pause and he struck again exactly 
along the same welt as raised by the first blow. At this 
second lash the Indian's skin broke and the blood oozed 
forth. After the sixth blow the skin on his back com- 
menced jumping back and forth, and quivering. At the 
eighth blow the Indian, until this time mute, gave an agon- 
ized cry and made pitiful appeals for mercy; but four 
more blows were laid on before the punishment ceased. 
When he was dropped to the earth he collapsed like a wet 
rag. He had lost consciousness. 

ONLY A SAMPLE CASE 

** This Indian has been there less than two months. 
In that time he had undergone many beatings, had been 
strung up by his thumbs, nearly starved to death and 
undergone other forms of punishment unbelievably cruel. 



EANCHES AND RANCHINa 215 

*' The managers of the ranch laughed when I remon- 
strated with them about the treatment accorded the 
Indian, and said that he had been one of the most 
obdurate cases which had come to the hacienda recently, 
but that they expected with a few more beatings they 
* would have him rounded into really tractable shape.' 
He ought then, they said, to make a good man. Of all 
the hundred Indians who looked on at the beating of their 
comrade, all had undergone the same course of punish- 
ment. But their spirits had been broken, and that was 
why, although there were not more than one or two 
officials of the ranch about, they had no longer the cour- 
age to protest against the treatment which was being 
meted out to their unfortunate comrade. Upon inquiry, 
I was laughingly told that more than one-half of the 
Indians brought to work on that ranch died before they 
were there a year." 



CHAPTER XVII 
INDUSTRIES AND MANUFACTURES 

Mexico is not a manufacturing country. Such articles 
as tlie mass of the people require are, however, generally 
produced in sufficient quantities to meet demand. Mexico 
will never become to any appreciable extent a manufac- 
turer of articles beyond those of which she produces the 
raw materials, yet this field is by no manner of means 
restricted. The revolution has greatly interfered with 
industries, of course, and in what follows we treat prin- 
cipally of conditions in recent times of peace. 

The Indian, who forms the greater part of the labor- 
ing population, is not progressive. He is loath to lay 
aside the rude implements of his forefathers and take 
up methods of modern invention and progress. His 
needs are few and he is not inspired with a desire to 
improve his condition. Having inherited nothing but 
traditions and the meager physical means to provide for 
his sustenance, he zealously guards the one and utilizes 
the other to the same extent as his progenitors, leaving 
his children only what he himself received. 

Everthing he does is executed in a perfunctory man- 
ner. He goes to his daily toil early and returns to his 
frugal meal and rest late. He is satisfied with his lot 
and cares little what the morrow may bring forth. But 
the Indian is losing ground. The whiter races are sur- 
passing him, and with increasing transportation facili- 
ties, a new government fostering industrial interests, and 
the disappearance of internal strife, his successors will 
in the not very distant future either join the ranks of the 

216 



INDUSTRIES AND MANUFACTURES 217 

progressive people, as in the thickly populated portions 
of the Republic they have already begun to do, or will 
die off, to be replaced by a more energetic and ambitious 
class. 

Manufactures will spring up with the increased pro- 
duction of raw materials, but the country's agricultural 
resources are so great that it is destined to become, still 
more than at present, a great exporter, so certain and 
so sure of good markets that capital is diverted to agri- 
cultural and mineral development rather than into manu- 
facturing enterprises on a large scale. 

EESOUECES LIE DOKMANT NOW 

What was said fifty years ago by Brantz Mayer about 
California is applicable at this time to Mexico. The 
whole world rushed to the Golden Gate when the news 
spread that fortunes lay sparkling in the yellow sands 
and auriferous rocks of that state, and every one shoul- 
dered a pick and a pan to seek the alluring nugget and 
aureate dust, noting not the fertile lands yearning like 
all of nature, to produce and reproduce. When the fever- 
ish excitement engendered by the pursuit of sudden 
wealth abated, then, and then only, did the wealth-seeker 
lay aside his pick and pan and take up the implements 
of agriculture and of other industries and make of that 
fair land what it is today. Mexico has been regarded by 
the natives and the foreigners as a land of mineral wealth 
only, and her many other resources are as yet but little 
noticed or developed. 

Brantz Mayer's words alluded to above were these: 
'' California has, at least, illustrated one great moral 
truth which the avaricious world required to be taught. 
When men were starving though weighed down with gold 
— when all the necessaries of life rose to twice, thrice, 
tenfold, and even fifty or a hundred times their value in 
the Atlantic States — that distant province demonstrated 
the intrinsic worthlessness of the coveted ore and the per- 



218 INDUSTRIES AND MANUFACTURES 

manent value of everything produced by genuine industry 
and labor." 

If the country were populated, even in proportion 
to Guanajuato and its outlying districts, the census of 
Mexico would show 58,000,000 of inhabitants, according 
to a recent estimate, and under such conditions the agri- 
cultural interests would become and constitute an element 
of enormous wealth. 

THE CATTLE INDUSTKY 

One of the most important of Mexico's industries is 
cattle raising. The states of the northern frontier are 
so well adapted to such purposes that they may be said 
to be immense cattle ranges. The excellent situation of 
the lands, as well as their generally well-watered con- 
dition, will, as has been said by the persons who have 
given study to the matter, make Mexico a formidable 
rival to the Argentine Republic. In recent years Texan 
and English capitalists made extensive purchases of lands 
and live stock in the northern states and devoted them- 
selves to the lucrative business of raising cattle for the 
market. But it is not only in the temperate and cold 
lands of the northern states that this industry may be 
carried on. In the warmer latitudes, where the herba- 
ceous vegetation is exuberant and watercourses abundant, 
it offers equal opportunity for success. 

The fattening of beeves on ranges well-conditioned for 
grazing or which lend themselves to grass growing and 
are well watered will give excellent results when the 
country is pacified and resumes its normal condition after 
revolutionary troubles. 

The States of Durango, Sonora, Chihuahua, Nuevo 
Leon, Cohahuila, Tamaulipas, Vera Cruz, and Michocan 
present admirable fields for the carrying on of the cattle 
industry. The rich pasture lands of the latter state feed 
the thousands of cattle slaughtered for the sustenance 
of the residents of the capital of the Mexican Republic. 



INDUSTRIES AND MANUFACTURES 219 

Some of the states above named are not well provided 
with water, but it has been demonstrated that with small 
expense all the necessary water can be provided by the 
boring of wells. In the State of Guanajuato a company, 
under the patronage of the state government, bored wells 
and began the breeding and fattening of the cattle on a 
large scale. This company imported into the country 
a considerable number of specimens of the best breeds of 
horned cattle from the United States and elsewhere, and, 
judging from appearances, its efforts were meeting with 
gratifying success when the revolution came. 

Mexico raises great numbers of cattle for the United 
States and does so under better conditions of climate than 
the latter country, for the stock-raisers of this country 
lose thousands every year owing to the rigorous winters 
and severe summers, while in Mexico perennial spring 
smiles on man and beast. 

Statistics show that thirty years ago in the Northern 
States of Mexico alone, over an area of 300,000 square 
miles, there roamed 1,500,000 horned cattle, 2,500,000 
goats, 1,000,000 sheep, 1,000,000 horses, and 500,000 
mules. 

Other live stock, such as horses, sheep, goats, swine, 
etc., are also raised on these ranges for export. 

HmES AND SKINS 

Another considerable industry is the collecting and 
exporting of hides and skins. Mexico occupies the fourth 
rank among the nations of the earth in this particular 
branch. 

The kid exported through the Matamoros custom-house 
is much esteemed for the manufacture of strong shoes, 
its dimensions and weight ranking high. This kid brings 
from 45 to 50 cents per pound. The Vera Cruz goat skins 
are more sought after and bring 2 cents more a pound, 
while those from Oaxaca are lighter and bring about 39 



220 INDUSTRIES AND MANUFACTURES 

cents per pound. These kids are considered among the 
best in the world for women's and children's shoes. 

Another industry, although not a prominent one, is the 
killing of seals and sea-lions on the coast of Lower Cali- 
fornia, the skins being converted into leather. 

Tanneries are to be found at many places and a very 
fair leather is turned out. There were thirty-three tan- 
neries at the capital a few years ago. Mexicans are 
artists in leather work, and in making saddles they excel. 
Saddles manufactured in the country have sold for more 
than $800, being profusely ornamented with silver and 
finely stamped leather. The center of the leather-work- 
ing industry is the city of Leon. There are no large shoe 
manufactories, most of the disciples of St. Crispin carry- 
ing on their trade in small huts or houses and on the 
sidewalks. The Mexicans are wonderful repairers of old 
and dilapidated footwear. 

Among other industries may be mentioned the gather- 
ing of sponges, mother-of-pearl, abalone, and other shells, 
pearl diving and tortoise fishing. These industries are 
at present but little developed, but, with the exception of 
pearls, which at one time were quite abundant in the 
Gulf of California, that gulf and the coast of both oceans 
abound in the articles enumerated, all of which are the 
choicest kinds. The '' carey," or tortoise shell, of Yuca- 
tan and Guerrero has been for a long time an article of 
trade. This article is also shipped to some extent from 
Magdalena Bay, in the territory of Lower California. In 
comparison to the returns the capital necessary to exploit 
these industries is small. 

HAMMOCK MAKING 

Another quite prominent industry of the Republic is 
hammock making. This is principally carried on in the 
State of Yucatan, where hammocks have been articles of 
use and barter from time immemorial. This fact is dem- 



INDUSTRIES AND MANUFACTURES 221 

onstrated beyond peradventure by the discovery in buried 
cities of banunock beams and hooks. 

Yucatan exports more hammocks than any other prov- 
ince in the world. These articles are made from the 
fiber called henequen, which grows so abundantly in the 
state named, and are woven entirely by hand, with the 
aid of a few very primitive implements, in this, as most 
other cases, the Indian proving his disapproval of inno- 
vations. All that is necessary to make a hammock is a 
couple of straight poles, a shuttle, a thin slat of zapoli 
wood, and a pile of henequen leaves. With these articles 
at hand a Yucatan native is prepared to accept contracts 
for hammocks by the piece, dozen or hundred. Some of 
these hammocks are brilliantly colored. The great ham- 
mock-making district, whence come the best made, and 
which produces more than all the other districts com- 
bined, is Texcoco. Almost the entire exportation of these 
articles is consumed by New York. 

COTTON FABRICS 

The principal manufacturing industry of the Republic 
is the making of cotton cloth, mostly manta, a coarse, 
unbleached cotton cloth. It has been estimated that the 
mills of the country consume annually 26,000,000 pounds 
of cotton, most of which is grown there, but quite a con- 
siderable quantity is imported. The industry gives work 
and support in the field and mill to more than 50,000 
families. The mills are usually provided with English 
and American machinery of modern type, and a few 
operators carry on business on an extensive scale. The 
ordinary cotton cloth (manta), which is about the only 
material for clothing used by two-thirds of the inhab- 
itants of the country, is usually made up in pieces of 30 
yards 4 inches in length by 34.12 inches in width. The 
manufacture of knit goods as hosiery, underwear, etc., 
has increased considerably of late years, and has resulted 
in making a noticeable reduction in the amount of im- 



222 INDUSTRIES AND MANUFACTURES 

ported goods of this character. The cloth made is of fair 
quality, and sells at from $1.62 per vara, carpets bringing 
from $1 to $1.34 per vara. A vara is 34.12 inches. 

WOOLEN FABRICS 

The weaving of '* zarapes " constitutes a profitable 
industry, there being an extensive and increasing demand 
for them. These multicolored woolen cloaks or blankets 
are well made, those of Satillo and San Miguel being 
celebrated for their fine texture, brilliant colors, good 
finish, and excellent wearing qualities. 

There are in the Republic quite a number of woolen 
mills, four of which, situated in the Federal District, have 
a yearly production of 162,000 pieces of cloth. It is not 
generally known that wool spinning has been carried on 
in Mexico for more than three centuries, yet such is the 
well authenticated fact. In the year 1541 the first viceroy 
introduced merino sheep into the country and established 
manufactories of cloth. 

THE SILK INDU.STKY 

Silk weaving can hardly be said to be a great industry 
as yet, but it is increasing rapidly. Silk was cultivated 
and sold in the markets of Mexico as far back as the time 
of Charles V., Cortez speaking of the fact in his letters 
to that monarch, and there are still preserved pictures 
done by the ancient Mexicans upon a paper made of silk. 
For some political reason, known only to the Spaniards 
of the day, the culture of the silkworm and the weaving of 
its product was prohibited by the Spanish crown in its 
American possessions during the vice-regal administra^ 
tions. The industry gradually died out, and it is only 
of late years that it has been revived. 

The climate of Mexico is considered unexcelled by any 
in the world for the raising and developing of cocoons. 
Silkworms are mostly raised in Oaxaca, in the state of 
the same name ; Tetela, in the State of Puebla ; Ixmiquil- 



INDUSTEIES AND MANUFACTURES 223 

pam, in Hidalgo, and in the States of Jalisco, Oaxaca, 
Tlaxcala, Michoacan, Queretaro, Vera Cruz, Chihuahua, 
and Zacatecas. In all of these states, as well as in the 
Federal District, the white and black mulberry leaves 
grow. In the factories women are generally employed 
because of the delicacy required in the work, most of the 
female operatives receiving 37^ cents per day. 

DISTILLEEIES 

.^Distilleries are to be found all over the country, yet 
very few of them have modern plants. These distilleries 
are chiefly engaged in distilling the liquor called mescal, 
a strong alcoholic beverage, which is colorless or of a 
very light amber tint. This liquor is distilled from the 
root of the American agave, and has an odor and a taste 
not unlike Scotch whisky. Mexicans claim that it has 
good stomachic qualities, but it is a great intoxicant. 
Another liquor made in Mexico is distilled from the sugar 
cane, and is called aguardiente (burning water). It is 
one of the strongest liquors known. 

Grapes flourish in the States of Chihuahua, Coahuila, 
Nuevo Leon, Aguascalientes, and Sinaloa, as well as in 
some other parts of the country, and a very fair native 
wine and brandy are made of them, as well as raisins and 
sugar, but the industry is not a prominent one and the 
production does not supply the home demand. 

Beer and pale ale are brewed, there being five brew- 
eries in the capital doing an extensive business, only one 
of which, however, is well equipped, and all of them do 
not supply the demand. 

TOBACCO 

The tobacco industry is extensive, nearly every town 
and hamlet having its cigarette factories, which may be 
counted by the hundreds in the Republic. The tobacco of 
Vera Cruz is considered to rival that of Cuba, and the 
factories of that city manufacture an excellent quality of 



224 INDUSTRIES AND MANUFACTURES 

cigars, much souglit after by foreigners. Cigarettes are 
very cheap, seven to eight hundred selling for a dollar. 
Good brands of cigars may be purchased from $35 to $80 
per thousand, Mexican coin. 

There are many flour mills in the country, and nearly 
all the millstones were imported from France. Not very 
fine grades of flour are manufactured, nor do the mills 
supply the domestic demand. 

lEON" FOUNDEIES 

Iron foundries are numerous, the excellent quality of 
the Mexican minerals and their abundance making it 
possible for these foundries to turn out good work. Some 
large pieces have been cast, but the production is mostly 
limited to the smaller agricultural implements and ordi- 
nary marketable iron. There are some foundries where 
sugar-making machinery has been constructed and 
heavier work turned out, but foreign articles compete 
against them profitably. The government arsenal and 
gun foundry in the City of Mexico has done some excel- 
lent work. Arms and munitions of war have been pro- 
duced at this establishment which speak highly for the 
skill and dexterity of the operatives in the establishment. 
Good work is also done in the two type foundries located 
in the City of Mexico. 

MEXICAN" JEWELEY 

Mexican jewelry has justly acquired a world-wide fame. 
When the Spaniards invaded the country, they acknowl- 
edged that the gold and silversmiths of the Aztec Empire 
excelled those of their own land. 

The precious metals w^ere used in casting vessels, some 
of which were said to have been so large that a man 
could not encircle them with his arm». 

Gems like opal, turquoise or chalchihuitl, ruby, agate, 
heliotrope, and chalcedony, were mounted in gold, and 




Summer Palace of Cortez, Cuernavaca 




Monument in front of old Cortez Palace, Cuernavaca 




A Street Biidge in Guanajuata 




Porfirio Diaz in a parade, just after his last election 




View of Ixtacchihuatl, from Sacramonte 




View of Popocatepetl, from Sacramonte 



INDUSTRIES AND MANUFACTURES 225 

artistic filigree-work in both gold and silver was made 
extensively. 

According to the accounts of the early Spanish chron- 
iclers, the ornaments worn by Montezuma must have 
been equal in elegance to many of the crown-jewels of the 
imperial families of Europe. 

At the present day the traveler will not meet with any 
large specimens of silverware, excepting the exquisite 
silver service of Maximilian, which is on exhibition in the 
Mjjseum at the national capital. 

/'^The modern jewelers confine themselves principally to 
the manufacture of watches, chains, necklaces, brooches, 
pins, buttons and other articles for personal adornment. 
The filigree-work in silver is worn extensively, but that 
of gold is seldom used. 

Chapetas, or silver studs for hats, are made in large 
quantities. They are in the form of stirrups, revolvers, 
ropes, horse-heads, dull-heads, spurs and other figures. 
These chapetas are fastened on either side of the crown. 
Silver ornaments are sold at a low price, and they make 
handsome presents for tourists to purchase. 



CHAPTER XVin 
MINES AND MINING 

Nature has richly endowed Mexico with resources well 
nigh countless, but in the bestowal of mineral resources 
she has been most lavish. Beneath the surface of that 
volcanic ridge raised between two great bodies of water 
lie buried treasures incomparable, and although mining 
enterprises innumerable have for nearly 400 years ex- 
ploited the metal-bearing regions and have extracted 
fabulous quantities of precious metals, by far the greater 
part is yet to be laid bare. 

At the beginning of the nineteenth century Humboldt 
estimated the mines in Mexico to number 3,000. At the 
end of the century hardly that many were being worked, 
but since the railroads have been extended and remote 
sections of the country brought into closer communica- 
tion, they have greatly increased in number and in value. 
This increase is also due to another cause. 

During the economic crisis of 1886, due to the depre- 
ciation of silver, the Mexican Congress appointed a com- 
mission composed of distinguished men to study the 
question. The commission suggested as a remedy the 
absolute necessity of the production of something else 
than silver. It called attention to the undoubted fact 
that the Republic, possessed as it is of the most varied 
climates, was favorable to all kinds of cultivation, and in 
consequence it proposed a series of measures tending to 
the protection of agricultural and mechanical interests. 
The result of the studies and report of this commission 
has been the reformation of the mining legislation, en- 

226 



MINES AND MINING 227 

couragement to large companies, the working of coal, 
mercury, and iron mines, the revision of the customs tar- 
iff in a way favorable to agriculture and industries, and 
the conferring upon the executive of the power to accord 
advantages to the development of the cultivation of cer- 
tain agricultural products. Another result of the work 
of this commission was the placing upon the free list a 
few years ago by the Mexican Congress of some eighty- 
six articles used in connection with the mining and agri- 
cultural interests. 

MINES EXEMPTED FKOM TAXES 

The law of June 7, 1887, exempted for 50 years from 
all federal, state, or municipal taxes (excepting the stamp 
tax), coal, iron, and quicksilver mines. Iron of Mexico 
origin in bars, ingots, rails, etc., enjoys the same privi- 
lege. All mines other than those mentioned are subject to 
but one tax, which cannot exceed 2 per cent of the value of 
the annual product. The free circulation of gold and silver 
in bars or coined, and in general of all the products of 
mines, can not be impeded by any tax whatever. Mer- 
cury is exempted from all tax. The tax on reduction 
works levied by states of the Federation can not exceed 
one-fifth of 1 per cent of value of the works. The law 
also prohibits the states from imposing any other tax 
whatever upon mines, their machinery, products, the cap- 
ital invested in them, the declarations or denouncements, 
or any other acts necessary to the acquiring of a mine. 
Pursuant to this law the government entered into many 
contracts with companies for the exploration and devel- 
opment of the mineral wealth of many of the states. 

THE METALLIPEKOUS BELT 

From the state of Sonora to that of Oaxaca, an extent 
of about 1,242 miles, running northwest and southeast, 
lies what is known as the metalliferous belt, because it is 
of extraordinary richness and it comprises the greater 



228 MINES AND MINING 

number of mining districts in the Republic, the most 
active centers being those of Zacatecas, Guanajuato and 
Pachuca. 

This belt includes one hundred and forty-three impor- 
tant mineral districts, situated in the states of Sonora, 
Chihuahua, Sinaloa, Durango, Zacatecas, Aguascalientes, 
Jalisco, San Luis Potosi, Guanajuato, Queretaro, 
Hidalgo, Mexico, Michoacan, Guerrero, Morelos, Puebla, 
Vera Cruz, and Oaxaca. Mineral deposits also exist in 
the states of Coahuila, Nuevo Leon, and Tamaulipas, but 
they do not lie in the belt above mentioned and are mostly 
abandoned. 

Of the two great ranges into which the Sierra Madre 
Cordillera is divided, the westernmost greatly exceeds 
the eastern in metal-bearing lodes. 

In Chihuahua there are over one hundred rich min- 
eral districts, with more than five hundred and seventy- 
five mines producing gold, copper, lead, mercury, salt, 
coal, and silver, generally accompanied by other metals 
from which may be obtained iron, zinc, antimony, arsenic, 
and other substances. 

GEEAT MINIKG CENTERS 

In the district and near the city of Chihuahua is sit- 
uated the celebrated Santa Eulalia mine, one of the oldest 
in the country, the products of which have left a monu- 
ment in the very handsome parish church of San Fran- 
cisco, erected in the city between the years 1717 and 1789 
with the proceeds of a tax of one real (12i/^ cents) on 
each half pound of silver got from the mine. The total 
sum thus secured is stated to be $800,000. 

Sonora is one of the richest cities as well as a most im- 
portant mining center. It is noted for its high-class 
metals, among which are ores which are easily worked 
and so aid materially in smelting. There are also other 
minerals, such as asbestos, copperas, magnetic iron ore, 
muriate and carbonate of soda, and saltpeter. The native 



MINES AND MINING 229 

silver is found in these districts in considerable quanti- 
ties and native iron has also been discovered in the Sierra 
Madre, Papagneria, and the vicinity of the Colorado 
Eiver. 

Sinaloa has also more than one hundred mining dis- 
tricts, the mineral deposits being classified into six forma- 
tions. Calciferous and quartz ore prevails with silver 
in a native state or combined with sulphur antimony, and 
arsenic, with more or less traces of gold. Veins of gold- 
bearing quartz exist in some localities and deposits of 
iron ore, sulphite of lead, zinc, copper, and silica are to 
be found. 

The districts of Durango run mostly to silver, yet many 
other metals exist, such as tin and iron, in inexhaustible 
quantities in the Cerro del Mercado, which is an enor- 
mous mass of magnetic iron. This cerro, or hill, has been 
calculated to contain 60,000,000 cubic yards of iron ore, 
having a specific weight of 5,000,000,000 quintals (100 
pounds). An analysis of this ore has given 66 per cent 
of pure metal. 

Jalisco is another silver-producing region, and fur- 
nishes also copper and lead ores and coal. 

A GKEAT SILVER STATE 

Zacatecas is the great silver-producing state. It is 
estimated that in the last three centuries its many mines, 
which were first worked by the Spaniards in 1540, but 
which had previously been worked in a rude way by the 
Indians have yielded over a thousand million of dollars. 
In 1910 there were over twenty thousand miners 
employed in the mines clustered around the city of 
Zacatecas. 

Guanajuato is another far-famed silver-producing 
state, and has been and still is the center of great 
exploitation. The district bearing the name of the state 
was discovered in 1548, and has been worked almost con- 
tinuously ever since that date, the output of its mines 



230 MINES AND MINING 

reaching fabulous figures. Native gold has been discov- 
ered in this district and the late denouncing and register- 
ing of mines has disclosed the presence of other minerals, 
such as tin and bismuth. 

In the mineral district of Queretaro are to be found 
lead metals, cinnabar and the ever present silver. The 
mines are numerous and important. The celebrated San 
Juan Nepomuceno or El Doctor mine is situated here, in 
the Cadareyta district. It is one of the oldest and richest 
of Mexico, its production being so great two hundred 
years ago that it paid the Spanish government $18,000,000 
in taxes. It is in this state that the fine opals, which 
reflect every prismatic color and are much sought after, 
are found. Great beds of these stones exist on the cele- 
brated hacienda of La Esperanza. The opals from this 
place are sold in the City of Mexico by itinerant venders 
at remarkably low prices. The most important deposit 
of these stones produces from $80,000 to $100,000 a year. 

QUAERIES OF ONYX 

Puebla's districts yield native gold, silver, oxide of 
manganese, and pyrites, as well as coal and iron ore. 
Here also exist quarries of beautiful onyx and what is 
known as Puebla marble. A syndicate was formed in 
New York some years ago, with a capital of $1,500,000, 
to control the almost sole source of the world's supply 
of onyx. This onyx is much used in the United States 
for decorating houses and in the jeweler's trade. 

The state of Mexico is rich in mines of native gold and 
silver as well as those of copper, iron, and manganese. 

The territory of Lower California is rich in minerals. 
The peninsula is barren and without water. The moun- 
tain ridge forming the backbone of the peninsula is a con- 
tinuation of the coast range of upper California and 
it is interwoven almost over its entire extent with metallic 
veins of all descriptions. Near San Jose and Cape St. 
Lucas there are argentiferous and auriferous out- 



MINES AND MINING 231 

croppings and in the municipalities of La Paz, El Triunf o, 
and San Antonio, veins of gold and silver, iron and other 
substances are exhibited on the surface of the mountains. 

In the districts of Comundu, Loreto, San Luis, and 
Muleje in the northern part of the peninsula, rich copper 
mines abound; also other metals, such as mica, iron, tin 
and oxides of iron, besides gypsum, enormous piles or 
hills of which are to be found, marble, alabaster and sand- 
stone. Gold was discovered near Santa Gertrudis, north 
of Muleje, about 1884, and it is said that the mountains 
and gulches in that vicinity have rich veins of this metal. 

In this district there are also solid mountains of iron. 

The frontier district of Lower California is noted for 
its gold digging and ledges, mica and other mineral sub- 
stances such as sulphur, soda, and salt. American cap- 
italists are largely interested in this region. 

Besides the minerals named there are in the peninsula 
plumbago, sulphuret of lead, porphyry, prismatic pyrites, 
sulphur, oxide of antimony and lead carbonate and phos- 
phate of lead, hydroxide of iron and hydrosilicate of 
copper. Near Todos Santos exist some lime quarries. 

DISCOVERED THE PATIO PROCESS 

The state of Hidalgo deserves more extended mention 
here as it was in one of its districts that a Mexican miner 
discovered the patio process for reducing ores — a pro- 
cess which to this day is most in use in Mexico, and one 
which no miner or mining engineer has been able to super- 
sede by a more economical one for reducing the peculiar 
ores in which the country abounds. The great mineral dis- 
trict of this state is situated in the vicinity of Pachuca, 
the principal mines being the Real del Monte, Antontolico 
el Chico, and Zimipan. 

Pachuca with its rich cluster of mines lies on a plain 
about 60 miles from the City of Mexico, and is one of the 
oldest mining centers in the country, having been worked 
for more than three and a half centuries. It has a pop- 



232 MINES AND MINING 

ulation of about 50,000 souls, mostly Indian miners. It 
was here that the process of amalgamation called the 
patio process was discovered by the celebrated Mexican 
miner Bartolome de Medina in 1557. The very hacienda 
and reduction works where this discovery was made are 
still to be seen in the to^vn. 

There are in Pachuca and the mining regions adjacent 
about 300 mines. Sulphate of silver is the prevailing 
metal, although native silver mixed with ore is found in 
some of the mines. Most of these mines, as well as those in 
other states, are still operated in the primitive Mexican 
fashion. The metal is brought up in rawhide sacks by 
means of ropes made of the fiber of the maguey wound 
about a large malacate, or horse or mule whims, and 
the peons or laborers carry pieces of ore weighing some- 
times between 100 and 200 pounds on their backs from 
*' headings " of the levels to the main shaft. Some for- 
eigners are employed in the mines of Pachuca and else- 
where at good wages, but they generally are superin- 
tendents, engineers, bosses, etc. 

The most celebrated salt deposits of Mexico are those 
of Penon Blanco, in San Luis Potosi, their product con- 
taining from 70 to 80 per cent of chloride of sodium. On 
the coasts of both oceans there are also a great number of 
salt mines, the most useful being those of Yucatan, 
whence comes the salt used for reducing the product of 
the mines of Hidalgo. 

Mexico also has deposits of precious stones, such as 
opal, topaz, emerald, agate, amethyst, and garnet. It is 
related that one of the heroes of Mexican independence, 
General Guerrero, possessed some diamonds which had 
been given him by one of his soldiers, who had found 
them during an expedition in that part of the Sierra 
Madre running through the State of Guerrero. The field 
or locality whence came these precious stones, of which 
the general gave but vague information, has been vainly 
sought by various prospectors. 



MINES AND MINING 233 

The total metal product of Mexico in coined gold and 
silver, in gold and silver bullion, in minerals not treated, 
and in other metals, as well as the balance exported or 
utilized in home consumption may be put down at about 
$70,000,000 per annum. 

There are five processes for the reduction of ore at 
present in use in Mexico — the patio, tonel, lixiviation, 
fuego and pan. 

THE PATIO PEOCESS OF KEDUCTION 

The patio process, invented, as before stated, by 
Bartolome de Medina, consists of amalgamation with 
quicksilver. A description of this system of treating ore 
is as follows : 

*' The ore as it is brought from the mine is in large 
pieces ; this is piled up in the court-yard in a huge pile, 
and does not look as if it contained any mineral, but like 
so much red stone. It is in the first place put into an 
inclosed box, and pounded to pieces by immense wooden 
pounders, armed on the end by iron pestles which are 
lifted up by arms connected with an axle, which is turned 
by mules. The ends of these arms fit into a notch in the 
pestles and lift them up to a certain distance, and then 
the end of the arm slips out of the notch, the iron pestle 
falls down with an immense force upon the mineral, and 
comminutes it into small pieces. These fall down upon 
a sieve made of hide, and the smaller pieces fall down 
through the holes in the sieve, and the larger pieces are 
thrown back under the pestles to be again crushed. There 
are several of these pestles in a straight line, connected 
with the same axle, and they are lifted up alternately. 

'^ After the ore is pounded in pieces in the mortars 
(mortears) it passes to the tahones, or mills, which con- 
sist of a round vat, placed on a level with the floor, where 
the ore is ground up into fine mud (water being added), 
by means of three heavy and hard granite stones of an 
oblong shape, which are tied to the arms, connected with 



234 MINES AND MINING 

a revolving axle turned by a mule, which walks around 
in a circle, blindfolded. Into holes made in the stones 
sticks are introduced, and these are connected by means 
of ropes or chains to the revolving arms. There are 
several of these circular vats, all situated in a line in a 
long room, each worked by a mule blindfolded. These 
are called tahones, and the crestpole in the middle, peon, 
with its two brazos (arms) of wood, from which are 
suspended the heavy stones called metapiles, or crushers. 
*' From here the ore, looking like so much mud, is 
thrown out into the patio or yard, which has a floor well 
made of some hard cement or stone, and here are added 
quicksilver and salt in a liquid state, or caldo (soup) as 
it is called. It is thus left in the open air exposed to the 
heat of the sun some twenty or thirty days, and is stirred 
up every day or two by the feet of men and horses, who 
walk around in a circle until the quicksilver and salt are 
well incorporated with the ore. When this process is 
completed the mud thus mixed is called torta de lama 
(cake of mud). After the ore is thus worked or brought 
to a proper state it goes to the lavedero (washing place), 
called tina (vat), which is round and made of wood and 
stone, where the silver is separated from the earth, and 
here is where the tortas de lama are taken from the 
yard, and here remains, after the mud is washed out, what 
is called the plata pina (amalgamated silver), containing 
quicksilver; this amalgam is then put into stout canvas 
bags and submitted to a heavy pressure to get rid of the 
mercury, and afterwards it goes to the furnace, where 
the silver is purified of all foreign substances." 

A FUETHEE PEOCESS 

An additional process is connected with this system in 
the reduction of certain kinds of ores, as follows : 

After the mineral has been exposed to the sun in the 
patio, or the yard, it is transferred to the planillo, which 
is an inclined plane in the open air, having a solid stone 



MINES AND MINING 235 

floor some 60 feet long and 20 feet wide. At the foot of 
this sit a number of nearly naked men, who occupy them- 
selves by throwing water gradually on the mass of mud 
by means of pieces of ox horn, so that the mud flows 
off, and runs outside of the yard in a ditch, and the silver 
with some mud is left at the foot of the inclined plane. 
This requires a great deal of skill, as the water must be 
thrown on gradually. After this process, the greater 
part of the mud has flowed off and only a small portion 
remains, which contains the silver. This mud is then 
removed to a room in the second story, where it is placed 
in the criso, a large round iron boiler, with fire under- 
neath; water is added, and it is stirred up by means of 
revolving arms worked by a mule, and the remaining mud 
flows off, only a small portion remaining. The rest of 
the process consists in removing the remaining substance 
to the amalgamating room, where quicksilver is added, 
which unites with the silver in the mud, and then this is 
further washed, and only the quicksilver is left united 
with the silver. This is further purified in a furnace and 
the silver runs off into molds. 

THE LIXIVIATION PEOCESS 

Another method in vogue is smelting, and lately Amer- 
ican machinery and systems have been introduced in 
many of the mining districts. Lixiviation is the system 
adopted in several of the states. Leaching tubes have 
taken the place of barrels and pans in a number of the 
mills. A writer on Mexico has thus described the lixivia- 
tion process : 

ii rpjjg j.QQ-^ jg crushed dry and passed through screens 
of twenty to thirty meshes to the inch. It is then roasted 
in reverberatory furnaces with salt. The roasted ore is 
then subjected to the water process, being kept in large 
tanks or tubs, constantly covered and run over by clear 
water during a number of hours, after which the water 
is drawn off, and a cold solution of hypo-sulphate of soda 



236 MINES AND MINING 

is made to pass tlirougli tlie ore until it is ascertained 
that the solution of another solution is precipated by the 
addition to that solution of another solution of quicklime 
and suljohur, known as calcium sulphide, which is made 
by boiling lime and sulphur. After the precipitation, and 
the running off of the precipitation liquid, the silver 
appears as a sulphate, is put into canvas filters, dried, 
roasted in reverberatory furnaces to carry off the sul- 
phate, and then melted in bars. If the operation is care- 
fully performed the bullion resulting mil be from 
900 to 1,000 fine. The solution is pumped back into the 
tanks to be used again. ' ' 



CHAPTER XIX 
COAL AND OIL DEPOSITS 

Mexican geologists affirmed for many years that no 
mineral coal existed in that country. About the year 1881, 
however, reports from several parts of the country 
claimed that anthracite coal had been discovered, and 
many specimens of what was supposed to be this mineral 
were sent to the National College of Engineers to be 
assayed. Much enthusiasm was aroused by these reports, 
and the Department of Public "Works appointed scientific 
commissions to visit the alleged coal localities and report 
thereon. The labors of these commissions proved that 
coal did exist, assaying from 41 to 92 per cent, the latter 
in the state of Sonora. It was to this coal that General 
Rosecrans gave the name of black gold. The commis- 
sions discovered and reported on anthracite deposits in 
Sonora, Michoacan, Vera Cruz, Guererro, Oaxaca, Puebla 
and other states. 

The excitement and enthusiasm thus created led to the 
formation of many coal companies, and many persons 
looked forward to fortunes out of collieries, but the 
results were not great. This enthusiasm was succeeded 
by a state of depression and inactivity by the discovery 
that the seams of coal brought to light were poor, and 
that the reports and rumors were exaggerated. Want 
of means of communication between the deposits and 
the markets also had much to do with the quiescent state. 
The depression continued until profitable coal deposits 
were unearthed in Coahuila, and were purchased by C. 
P. Huntington, the American railroad magnate. 

237 



238 COAL AND OIL DEPOSITS 

Mr. Huntington's mines produced in the first year 
they were worked 150,000 tons, and were soon yielding 
250,000 tons, which was shipped to the United States. 

In 1890, a deposit of coal having continuous, power- 
ful, and compact seams was discovered within a short 
distance from Piedras and, according to an examination 
made by a French engineer, the amount of coal in sight 
was 9,000,000 tons, of a superior quality. 

In 1890, an English company, called '' The Mexican 
Explorations, Limited," secured from the government a 
concession of coal lands in Sonora, and planned a rail- 
road to connect the collieries with the port of Guaymas. 
One of the most important mineral deposits of Sonora 
is anthracite, it having been discovered at Barranca, 
on the Yaqui River, 100 miles from its mouth. The 
coal contains 90 per cent of carbon and is found in sand- 
stone and conglomerate. 

Plentiful coal deposits have also been discovered in 
the district of Justlahuaea, Oaxaca. 

STATES SEEK DEVELOPMENT 

The government of the state of Puebla has been anx- 
ious to stimulate the development of coal deposits, and 
to this end some years ago decreed all such properties 
exempt from taxes for twenty-five years. It, moreover, 
offered a bounty of $1,000 per year for ten years to the 
first company to supply Puebla with a quantity of coal 
at a price not higher than that of other fuel. Further 
inducements were offered to railroads which should 
traverse coal regions. All industrial enterprises, thereto- 
fore, had to rely on wood and charcoal for necessary fuel. 
Green wood cost from $7 to $8 a ton and charcoal between 
$25 and $30. To import coal from England entailed an 
expense of $40 per ton of 2,208 pounds, and coke from 
the Vera Cruz gas works cost $30 per ton. 

Until recent years no foreign company or outside cap- 



COAL AND OIL DEPOSITS 239 

ital stepped in to purchase coal or other mines in the 
state. 

In 1890, coal was discovered in Jalisco, on the borders 
of Lake Ameca and San Gabriel Valley. 

Deposits have also been discovered in the states of 
Tlaxacala, Vera Crnz, Hidalgo, Tamaulipas, and Nuevo 
Leon. Some of the coal found in the latter states is 
burned in the locomotives of the Mexican National Rail- 
way. Brown, or lignite, coal is found in many localities, 
although it is but little used. 

The scarcity of fuel near the lines of the great rail- 
roads was the cause of great quantities of coal being 
imported. The Mexican Railway connecting Vera Cruz 
and the capital of the nation long used cakes of com- 
pressed coal imported from Great Britain, and the Mexi- 
can Central Railway, which formerly used wood, later 
imported its coal from the United States. 

In November, 1890, a Mexican engineer, while exam- 
ining the coal fields of San Marcial, in Sonora, found a 
layer 6 feet in thickness at a depth of 17 feet. The 
existence of coal, great in quantity and excellent in 
quality, for a distance of 10 miles in a northeast and 
northwest direction was proved. Operations at the coal 
fields are carried on about 40 miles from Ortiz, a town 
on the Sonora Railway between Hermosillo and Guay- 
mas. This concession is owned by a Mexican company 
and covers 4,000,000 acres. Coal has been found in bor- 
ings 50 miles apart. The diamond drill has gone through 
three veins — one of 2 feet, another of 4 feet, and a third 
of 71^ feet, and in a fourth it has already penetrated 
22 feet, and is still working in coal. The coal, which by 
test is said to equal the finest Lehigh Valley product, 
can be traced for miles on the surface, the four veins 
showing the same thickness throughout the whole extent. 
A railway 60 to 65 miles in length carries the coal to the 
harbor at Guaymas, whence it can be laid down in San 
Diego, Cal., for $5 a ton. 



240 COAL AND OIL DEPOSITS 

It lias been said that an extensive coal mine in Mexico 
will prove a greater bonanza than a gold mine. 

GREAT OIL DEPOSITS 

The territory of Mexico also abounds in deposits of 
asphaltum, liquid petroleum, and bituminous coal. For 
a long time these deposits were not worked to any great 
extent, however, many causes having existed for the non- 
activity in this and other industrial pursuits, among 
which may be mentioned the relatively small number of 
inhabitants in comparison to the extent and richness of 
the soil (there are about five inhabitants to the square 
mile), the absence, to within a few years, of public secur- 
ity and protection to property, and the lack of means of 
communication, which have been only lately partially 
supplied. Now there are great oil fields operated by 
English and American capital. The greatest of all is 
in the vicinity of Tampico. 

The turning of the minds of the people of the country 
to peaceful business occupations and the ever-increasing 
influx of foreigners have created a largely augmented 
demand for illuminating and heating substances. The 
consumption of petroleum in Mexico, it has been stated 
on good authority, amounts to 5,000,000 gallons per 
annum. Foreign crude petroleum pays an import duty 
of 1 cent per kilogramme, which is about 10 per cent ad 
valorem on the average market value of the refined 
article. 

The entire Atlantic coast of Mexico shows traces of 
oil and asphaltum, which there goes by the name of 
chapopote. In the northern part of the Republic between 
the foothills and the coast there exist springs and deposits 
of the substances named. 

The deposits of asphaltum in the vicinity of Tuxpan 
and Tampico are excellent in quality, and from them 
the merchants of the coast have shipped at various times 
small quantities to the United States and Europe. This 




A typical Mexican scene — Peon Women and Children 




Santa Rosa Cathedral, Queretaro 




The Rebel leader, Zapata, whose operations in Southern Mexico have been 
more or less independent of the Constitvitionalist movement 




Tlic rriauuei'b' JJuiid in the i'eiiiteiitiiiry at (.luadalajara 




Patio of the Penitentiary in the City of Puebla, Mexico 



COAL AND OIL DEPOSITS 241 

asphalt may be easily broken into blocks and floated 
down the river to the seacoast, where it may be collected 
and laden on ships. 

Crude petroleum springs running freely are to be found 
on the banks of several rivers, the oil flowing into these 
and covering their surface for some distance. When 
samples of this oil were assayed in Pennsylvania, they 
were reported to be of a quality equal to the crude prod- 
ucts of that state. Some of these springs have a natural 
flow of three inches in diameter. 

Deposits of bituminous coal of the class known as 
^' Grahamite " are also found in the regions named. 
This was an important discovery, since the value of this 
article is much greater than that of anthracite coal, owing 
to the superior qualities it possesses for the manufac- 
ture of gas. One deposit is situated a few miles up the 
river from Tampico, and the amount of the coal in sight 
proves it to be an important field. 

Almost all of the oil springs and asphalt and coal 
deposits are situated in localities favorable to their being 
worked profitably and their products easily transported. 

Under a law of 1887, coal, iron and quicksilver mines 
and their products were made free from all taxes and 
duties for 50 years. 



CHAPTER XX 
LAND LAWS OF MEXICO 

Land in Mexico may be divided into three regions, 
which have been called respectively, the hacienda coun- 
try, the pueblo country, and the free country. 

The first-named comprises the greater part of the 
central plateau, many of the temperate valleys situated 
on the slopes or terraces of this plateau, nearly all of the 
gulf coast, and many points on the Pacific. 

The pueblo or community holdings lie toward the 
southern part of the country. 

The free country, or pueblo lands, so called because of 
the fact that few if any haciendas or pueblos exist there, 
is situated in the north of the Republic. 

As regards the central plateau, it is really marvelous 
that its lands retain their fertility, considering their 
great productiveness for hundreds of years. The only 
way this can be accounted for is that the system of 
irrigation there in vogue yearly resupplies the soil with 
natural fertilizing matter. 

Previous to the conquest this very land had to provide 
food for at least twice the existing population of the 
country and was producing for more than six centuries 
unceasingly and without fertilizers. Strange, indeed, 
then, that it has not become sterile. But it is said that 
the day is fast approaching when the fecundity of this 
soil will vanish. Dryness and barrenness are already 
becoming evident in certain portions of the table lands. 

The almost virgin land and that which invites the 
energetic arm of the careful husbandman lies on the east 

242 



LAND LAWS OF MEXICO 243 

and on tlie west, towards the coasts, and wlien the rail- 
road system is complete and has united one and the 
other points, many fertile valleys will be in a posi- 
tion to bring forth two and three crops a year to gladden 
the eye and fill the purse of the tiller of the soil. 

THE PUBLIC LANDS 

The free or public lands are situated mostly in parts 
of the States of Chihuahua, Coahuila, Durango, Sinaloa, 
and Sonora. Immense tracts are here almost uninhabited, 
and in the western Sierra Madre the plains reach down 
to the tropics. These lands were formerly settled upon 
by religious orders, or were held by officers of the Span- 
ish crown. After the war of independence and the 
escheating to the state of ecclesiastical holdings they 
became public lands, and are what are now called ter- 
renes baldios. The nation, under a law to that effect 
enacted, has had most of the lands surveyed and meas- 
ured, giving to the companies doing the surveying one- 
third of the land surveyed, and disposed of the rest to 
private parties and companies. About 100,000,000 acres 
have thus been disposed of, and the government still 
retains in the neighborhood of 25,000,000 acres. 

The land in the north is generally laid out in squares 
containing from 4,000 to 6,000 acres. 

The climate of this section greatly resembles that of 
the south of Europe, and is well adapted to colonization. 

As has been said, the pueblo system prevails nearly 
everywhere in the south of the country, and the govern- 
ment will require some three or four years more to com- 
plete the reclamation of public lands in that quarter. 
The southern railroad system will not be completed 
before that time, and the country must wait some time 
before the fertile valleys of the States of Chiapas, 
Guerrero, and Oaxaca can be opened up to immigration 
and settlement. Land may, however, be bought there at 
very low prices, but organized immigration, compelled 



244 LAND LAWS OF MEXICO 

to produce and sell quickly, should look elsewhere for a 
few years. 

The great question in Mexico is water. The country, 
excepting the lowlands of the gulf is dry, and has been 
likened to Algeria and Egypt. 

TERMS OF THE LAW 

The law concerning the occupation of public lands 
(terrenos baldios) was promulgated on July 22, 1863, 
and, with amendments afterwards enacted, is in sub-- 
stance as follows : 

All lands in the Republic are considered as public 
(baldios) which have not been utilized for public pur- 
poses nor ceded to individuals or corporations authorized 
to receive them. 

Every inhabitant of the Republic has the right to 
denounce or enter upon public land to the extent of 2,500 
hectares (about 6,177 acres), and no more, excepting 
natives or naturalized citizens of bordering nations, who 
can not, except by express authority of the president of 
the Republic, acquire land in any state or territory bor- 
dering on their country situated within 20 leagues of the 
boundary line or within 5 leagues of the coast. 

(Aliens desiring to acquire property within the pre- 
scribed limits must apply to the department of public 
works (of Mexico), accompanying the application with a 
report of the government of the state, district, or terri- 
tory wherein the land sought to be acquired is situated.) 

The denouncing of public lands must be made before 
the judge of the federal court in the judicial district 
wherein the land is situated. 

This step taken, the survey and plat of the land 
denounced will be made by the government surveyor, or, 
in default thereof, by a surveyor appointed by the court. 

After the survey and platting, inquiry will be made at 
the land office if the land is in the possession of the gov- 
ernment. Should this be the case the patent is issued to 



LAND LAWS OF MEXICO 245 

the denouncer without further proceedings; but in the 
event of an adverse claim the case between the claimant 
and denouncer is tried in the courts, the government also 
being a party thereto. 

THE DENOUNCEB's RIGHTS 

In case the government is not in possession of the land 
the denouncement shall be published three times, at inter- 
vals of ten days, in the newspapers, and by notices dis- 
played in public places. If no claimant presents him- 
self, no patent shall issue, but a possessory title shall be 
decreed to vest in the denouncer; but should a claimant 
intervene, the case shaU be tried, with the government 
as a party. 

A judicial decree granting a patent or possessory title 
shall not have effect without the approval of the depart- 
ment of public works, to which end the record and copy 
of the map shall be forwarded to said department by the 
governor of the state wherein the land in question is 
situated, accompanied by the report he may deem it 
advisable to make. 

The approval alluded to having been obtained, and the 
party in interest having filed the certificate and having 
deposited in the proper office the value of the land, in 
accordance with the biennial price list, or the requisite 
installment when time payments are allowed, the judge 
will deliver to him the patent, or possessory title. 

The expenses incident to measurement, survey, or pro- 
curing of title and all other necessary expenses shall be 
borne by the denouncer, but he is indemnified in case an 
adverse claimant is successful against whom costs shall 
be decreed. 

LONG LEASES TO FOEEIGNBES 

By act of June 7, 1886, the government, evidently 
intending to favor the introduction of foreign capital 
into Mexico, decreed, among other provisions, that for- 



246 LAND LAWS OF MEXICO 

eigners shall not be required to reside in the Republic 
for the acquisition of waste or public lands, real estate, 
and ships, but that they shall be subjected to the restric- 
tions imposed by the laws then in force. The act further 
provided that all leases of real estate made to foreigners 
shall be considered as sales if for a longer period than 
ten years. 

The obligations contracted by an alien acquiring real 
estate in Mexico are : 

1. To subject himself to the laws of the country in 
force at the time of acquisition or which may thereafter 
be enacted respecting the ownership, transfer, use, and 
improvement of land, and to submit to the judgment and 
decrees of Mexican courts in everything affecting the said 
land. 

2. To pay all lawful taxes levied on the property. 

3. To aid with his services and means in the preserva- 
tion of order and security in his place of residence, except 
in cases of disturbance due to political revolutions, or 
civil war. 

4. To perform the duties of a Mexican citizen, which 
a foreigner becomes on acquiring real estate, provided 
he does not beforehand declare his intention to retain 
his nationality. 

(Up to the year 1886 the Mexican law recognized as a 
citizen every foreigner who had acquired real estate, or 
had a child born in the Republic, unless he explicitly 
made known his intention to preserve his nationality by 
being ' ' matriculated, ' ' i. e., having his name and nation- 
ality inscribed in a book kept for the purpose in the 
department of foreign affairs, and outside of the capital 
in the state governor's office, etc., but by the law of July 
7, 1886, the acts requiring the registration of foreigners 
were repealed. A foreigner, however, desiring to be 
recognized as such, may solicit and receive of the said 
department a certificate of nationality, which will con- 
stitute a legal presumption of foreign citizenship, but 



LAND LAWS OF MEXICO 247 

will not bar proofs to the contrary being adduced in 
courts of competent jurisdiction in tbe manner estab- 
lished by the laws or treaties.) 

TITLE OF AN ALIEN 

An alien holding real estate in the Republic loses all 
right, title and interest therein in the following cases : 

1. By absenting himself with his family from the 
country for more than two years without previous per- 
mission of the government. This does not apply to 
mining property. 

2. By residing permanently abroad, although the 
owner may leave a representative or attorney to look 
after the property and represent him. Mines are also 
excluded from this provision. 

3. By transferring the title to the real estate to any 
non-resident of the Republic, either by deed, will, or 
other conveyance. An alien thus situated must sell the 
property within two years from the date of absenting 
himself, under penalty of having it sold on his account 
by the local authorities. In the event of there being an 
informer to bring the matter to the notice of the proper 
authorities, one-tenth of the proceeds of the sale may be 
retained by him. Mines are not included. 

Under the law, as given in substance above, the secre- 
tary of public works publishes every two years the prices 
at which government lands may be purchased. 



CHAPTER XXI 
THE LEGEND OF GUADALUPE 

At Guadalupe, in the Valley of Mexico, is found the 
holiest shrine of all in Mexico and its legend is the 
prettiest of all legends. 

As we read the little of Aztec history that the Spanish 
left unburned we may well wonder at the similarity of 
their religion to that of the Christians, and we are apt 
to conclude that the ancient Mexicans were not the pagans 
they have been painted, says Reau Campbell in his inter- 
esting '' Guide." The Aztecs waited for the coming of 
a Christ to save them; Malintzi, the Saviour of the 
Aztecs, was a man of fair countenance, long flowing hair 
and beard, was of gentle mien and character, was and is 
to come to save the Mexican ; Tonantzin was the Mother 
of Gods in their religion, and the people worshiped her 
on the Hill of Tepeyacac, now called Guadalupe, where 
the Holy Virgin appeared to Juan Diego and where her 
holiest temple stands. This is the legend of Guadalupe : 

A pious Indian, Juan Diego, lived in the village of 
Tolpetlac, and as he went to mass in the church of Santi- 
ago Tlaltelolco, passed around the hillside of Tepeyacac, 
on Saturday morning, December 9, 1531. He heard the 
sweet music of singing voices ; he was afraid, and, look- 
ing up, behold, a lady appeared to him and bade him 
hear what she might say ; he should go to the bishop and 
tell him that it was her will that a temple in her honor 
should be built on that hill; he listened tremblingly, on 
his knees, and when the lady had vanished, went his way 
and told the bishop what he had seen and heard. 

248 



THE LEGEND OF GUADALUPE 249 

The bishop was Don Juan Zumarraga; he listened 
incredulously to the Indian's story and sent him away. 
Sorrowfully he returned to where the lady appeared to 
him, found her waiting and told the bishop's answer; 
she bade him come to her again. 

On the following day, Sunday, Juan Diego came again 
to the hillside ; the lady appeared for the third time and 
sent him to the bishop again with her message that a 
temple should be built for her. The bishop, still unbeliev- 
ing and distrusting the improbable means of conveying 
such a command through this poor Indian, told him he 
must bring some unmistakable token that what he said 
was true, sent him away again, and, unknown to him, 
sent two servants to watch him; but as he approached 
the hill he became invisible in some mysterious way, 
passed around the hill, and alone saw the lady and told 
her the bishop required a token of the truth of her com- 
mands ; she told him to come to her again the next day. 

A MIRACULOUS *' SIGN " 

Then returned Juan Diego to his house, and found 
that his uncle, Juan Bernardino, was iU with the fever, 
cocolixtli, so that he must wait at home and attend him. 
Early on the morning of December 12, the sick man being 
at the point of death, Juan Diego started to Tlaltelolco 
to call a confessor; fearing that he might be delayed if 
he met the lady, and that his uncle might die unconf essed, 
he went another way, around the other side of the hill. 
But behold! she was there, coming down the hill and 
calling to him; he told her of his uncle's illness and of 
his need for a confessor, but she assured him that his 
uncle was already well. Then the lady told him to gather 
flowers from the barren rocks on top of the hill, and 
immediately the flowers grew where none had ever been 
before; she commanded him to take these flowers to the 
bishop as the token he had desired, and to show them to 
no other until the bishop had looked upon them. 



250 THE LEGEND OF GUADALUPE 

Joyfully lie folded the flowers in his tilma, a sort of 
cloak made of ixtli, a fiber of the maguey, and departed 
again for the bishop's house. From the place where the 
Virgin stood a spring of clear, cold water gushed forth; 
that is there to this day — a panacea for the ills that 
flesh is heir to. When he came to the bishop's house, 
the Indian dropped the flowers at the holy father's feet 
and upon the tilma appeared the image of the Virgin 
Mary, in the most beautiful colors. The bishop placed 
the wonderful tilma with its miraculous picture in the 
oratory of his house, holding it as a priceless treasure. 
Juan Diego, escorted by the bishop's servants, returned 
to his own home and found that his uncle was well, cured 
in the hour when the Virgin spake and told him no con- 
fessor was needed. A chapel was built where the roses 
had so miraculously grown from the rocks, and on the 
7th of February, 1532, the tilma of the holy image was 
placed over its altar within the shrine. Juan Diego and 
his uncle, Juan Bernardino, became the attendants, and 
under the teachings of Fray Toribio Motolinia, Juan 
Diego and his wife took vows of chastity and remained 
in the house of the Virgin as her servants till Juan Diego 
died, in 1548. 

SANCTIONED BY THE CHUKCH 

The legend had the sanction of Rome, first under Pope 
Alexander VIL, who ordered an investigation by the 
Congregation of Rites with a view to the granting of 
authority for the perpetuation of the feast of the 12th 
of December, the day of the last appearance of the Virgin 
to Juan Diego, the day of his gathering the roses in his 
tilma, and the appearance of the image when the flowers 
fell at the bishop's feet. 

Toward the middle of the eighteenth century the Virgin 
of Guadalupe was made the Patron Saint of Mexico for 
her protection during the plague of the matlan&ahuatl in 
1736. In 1754, Juan Francisco Lopez, a Jesuit priest, 



THE LEGEND OF GUADALUPE 251 

having been sent to Rome for that purpose, secured 
favorable action by the Congregation of Rites, and the 
feast of the 12th of December was established by the 
Papal buU of Benedict XIV., dated 25th of May of that 
year, and the Virgin of Guadalupe was officially pro- 
claimed the Protectress and Patroness of Mexico, or 
New Spain. 

A NATION^AL, HOLIDAY 

On the 15th of September, 1810, when Hidalgo took 
the banner of this Virgin from the little church of Ato- 
tonilco and proclaimed the independence of Mexico, 
'' Guadalupe " became the battle-cry of his followers. 

The first Congress of the Republic of Mexico gave the 
festival further recognition by making the 12th of 
December a national holiday through the decree of No- 
vember 27, 1824, and the day is religiously observed 
throughout the country, particularly by the Indians, who 
in former years walked hundreds of miles to present 
themselves before the holy shrine, and since the building 
of the railroads, come from the uttermost parts by train 
loads. 

There are other festivals of the Virgin of Guadalupe, 
notably that of January 12, when the archbishop and the 
clerical dignitaries are present, and the feast is one of 
splendid magnificence; another on the 22nd of Novem- 
ber, one on the 3rd of December, and on the 12th of each 
month. 

At the foot of the Hill of Guadalupe is a group of 
churches, that have grown about the original church of 
Nuestra Senora de Guadalupe, built by Bishop Zumar- 
raga, afterwards Archbishop of Mexico, who received 
the sacred tilma from. Juan Diego. The first temple of 
the tilma was built and the image placed in it within 
fourteen days after the apparition. A hundred years 
after, a new and larger church was added and the tilma 
with its miraculous image placed in it, in November of 



252 THE LEGEND OF GUADALUPE 

1622. Here the tilma remained for three hundred years, 
with the exception of four years, when it was housed 
in the Cathedral in the City of Mexico. 

AID SOUGHT IN FLOOD 

During the great inundation of 1629, when the city 
was endangered, the Archbishop Francisco Manso y 
Zuniga and the viceroy. Marques of Cerralvo, sought 
the aid of the Virgin for the subsidence of the waters, 
and to that end brought the image of the tilma to the 
Cathedral. The waters covered the face of the earth in 
all the valley, and the bringing of the image was in a 
barge, in which rode the archbishop; the viceroy fol- 
lowed in another barge carrying a brilliant company of 
the dignitaries of church and state. 

This weird and unique procession passed over the 
waters in the night; the barges and gondolas were 
lighted with torches and paper lanterns, while the musi- 
cians played sacred music and the people sang their 
hymns to the Virgin. When the flotilla came to streets 
of the city the image was taken to the archbishop's resi- 
dence for the night, whence it was taken the next day to 
the Cathedral, where it remained four years, till the sub- 
sidence of the waters, then taken back to the shrine at 
the Hill of Guadalupe. 

THE CHUKCH OF GUADALUPE 

In 1695, the existing parish church was built and used 
as a temporary shrine of the Virgin of Guadalupe, while 
the work on a larger and greater temple progressed, 
which was dedicated in May, 1709. The arched roof is 
surmounted by a dome and lantern that is 125 feet from 
the floor; the supports are massive Corinthian columns. 
The nave is nearly 200 feet long by 122 feet wide. The 
original altar was from designs by the great Tolsa, drawn 



THE LEGEND OF GUADALUPE 253 

in 1802, but the work was so hindered by the wars from 
1810 to 1821 that little or no progress was made, and it 
was not completed till 1836; the cost to this time was 
nearly half a million dollars, which, added to the million 
or more that the churches had cost, made the expendi- 
tures nearly two million dollars up to that year. Around 
the chancel was placed a massive silver railing on a base 
of white marble, the gift of the Viceroy Bucareli, who 
lies under the pavement of the west aisle. The choir was 
of carved mahogany and ebony ; there are other carvings 
in the sacristy, where there are also some paintings and 
two very curious tables of onyx. This church is what 
is termed '' collegiate," that is, although not the seat 
of an archbishop or bishop, it has the organization of a 
cathedral. 

In the year 1887, Father Antonio Plancarte y Labas- 
tida prepared to carry out a long cherished design for 
[renovation and embellishment of the Church of Our 
Lady of Guadalupe, and he lived long enough to see the 
crowning glory in the completion of his work before he 
put down his burden. Father Plancarte died in 1898. 
When the work was commenced the tilma was moved to 
the adjoining church, one time the convent of the Capu- 
chinas, but not without some opposition on the part of 
the Indians, who ever watch the image with a jealous 
eye. They are suspicious of every move; and when the 
work was completed the tilma was replaced in the 
renewed basilica on the 30th of September, 1895, at a 
very early hour before the break of day, thus avoiding 
further protests from the Indians. 

On entering the great doorway there is a bewildering 
sense of the gorgeous magnificence of the scenic interior, 
and one stands almost in awe, with indecision whether 
to move on or stand there, and so great is the beauty of 
the ensemble that it is hardly possible to fix the eye on 
individual objects; before entering there was a pre- 
eminent object of seeing the famous tilma, but for the 



254 THE LEGEND OF GUADALUPE 

moment even that is forgotten in the glorious harmony of 
color. 

A MAGNIFICENT ALTAE 

The magnificent altar containing the frame holding 
the sacred tilma is a mass of Carrara marble white as 
the snows of Popocatapetl, exquisitely carved and 
wrought with gilded bronze, executed at Carrara by the 
sculptor, Nicoli, from designs by the Mexican artists, 
Agea and Salome Pina. The bronze work was done in 
Brussels. On the left, or Gospel side, of the altar is the 
figure of Juan Zumarraga, on the Epistle, or right side, 
that of Juan Diego, done in Carrara marble; imme- 
diately in front is the kneeling figure of Mgr. Labastida 
y Davalos, Archbishop of Mexico, under whose care the 
great work was completed. Under the statue are his 
ashes and the remains of his father and mother. At 
the top of the frame holding the image on the tilma 
are the marble reliefs of three angels representing the 
archdioceses of Mexico, Michoacan and Guadalajara, 
which were chiefly instrumental in securing the Papal 
authority for the coronation. Above the high altar 
is a splendid Byzantine baldachin supported by pillars 
of Scotch granite, surmounted by a gilded cross of roses, 
the flowers of the Virgin of Guadalupe. The front arch 
of the baldachin bears the arms of Pope Leo XIIL, the 
other three arches the arms of the Archbishops of Mex- 
ico, Michoacan and Guadalajara, who applied to Pope 
Leo for permission to crown the image of the tilma. 

Underneath the high altar is a crypt with a vaulted 
iron roof that will sustain a weight of 300,000 pounds. 
The crypt contains four altars under the high altar, and 
has thirty urns for the reception of the ashes of the 
thirty persons who gave $5,000 each to the cost of the 
high altar and the baldachin, the total cost of which 
was $150,000. 



THE LEGEND OF GUADALUPE 255 

Li all there are ten altars in tMs great clmroli. Tlie 
fine windows of the church were the gifts of prominent 
people of Mexico. 

The high altar holds the sacred tilma in which Juan 
Diego brought the roses to the bishop, and on which the 
image of the Virgin so miraculously appeared. Some 
years ago a number of artists and scientific men were 
permitted to examine the picture, which they did critic- 
ally, taking off the plate glass, but they were not able 
to say that the colors were put on in any manner known 
to art; they all agreed that the picture was not painted, 
and by their decision the mystery of the picture was 
enhanced and its miraculous origin all but determined. 
The tilma has remained here in this place for nearly 
four hundred years ; its colors are bright and fresh, while 
other pictures as old are faded and worn ; is it any won- 
der, asks Mr. Campbell, that the mass of the people 
believe, since learned men and artists cannot of their 
learning and art gainsay the legend? 

The adoration of the image on the tilma has not been 
confined to olden times; it continues, and will probably 
continue for all time. The culmination was on the 12th 
of October, 1895, when a crown of gold and jewels, a 
galaxy of gems, diamonds, rubies and sapphires, was 
placed over the tilma. On that day came pilgrims from 
every quarter; they thronged the church and covered 
the plain round about. 

A MULTITUDE OF PILGRIMS 

It was a magnificent scene to stand upon the hill and 
look down upon the numberless multitude of pilgrims, 
come from the remotest corners of Mexico and assem- 
bled without the walls, for only hundreds could get within 
the sacred portals. The unsheltered thousands knelt in 
mute adoration, with bowed heads, in the dust of the 
salty plain, and listened to the tolling of the bells in the 



256 THE LEGEND OF GUADALUPE 

tower when the jeweled, golden crown was raised to the 
brow of the Virgin of Guadalupe, then fell down and 
kissed the ground in the fervor of their adoration and 
blessed the memory of good Juan Diego. 

Within, under the arches of the vaulted temple, were 
gathered the dignitaries of the Church of Eome, come 
from all the sees and bishoprics of the western world, 
and in all the pomp and ceremony of the church, with 
mitered heads and gorgeous robes. 

The glad news had gone over every hill, down to every 
valley and over all the plains of Mexico, that the corona- 
tion of Guadalupe was to be on this day. The news went 
not by advertisement or printed paper, but on the wings 
of the wind. The birds of the air told it to the people, 
and they came and knelt at the Hill of Guadalupe, that 
was called Tepeyacac. 

The crown is of gold and precious stones, contributed 
by the women of Mexico from their own jewels, and was 
made by a Parisian goldsmith at a cost of over $30,000 
for manufacture alone. In shape it is an imperial dia- 
dem, 62 centimeters high and 130 centimeters in circum- 
ference. There are 22 shields representing the 22 
bishoprics of Mexico. Above these are angels circling 
the crown and upholding six other shields bearing the 
arms of the six archbishoprics of Mexico. From the 
wings of the angels are festoons of roses and diamonds 
gathered at the top under a globe showing Mexico and 
the Gulf. 

Surmounting the whole is the eagle of Mexico bear- 
ing in its talons a diamond cross. The crown is held 
above the image on the tilma by a cherub. The shields 
are surrounded by emeralds and sapphires, and on the 
breast of each angel is a blazing ruby. Altogether it is 
the finest jewel used in religious ceremonies in existence. 

At the coronation the ladies who gave their jewels 
for the crown carried it to the steps of the throne of the 




yx Altar at Puebla, Mexico 




Chapel on iIk- iliil uf the Ueils, yueietaio, wlieie the Emperor Maximilian 

was executed 




General view of Zacatecas 




"^^^-'^ ^^'K^^' 






Scrap lion Market at San Luis Potosi 




Street Market in Guanajuato 



THE LEGEND OF GUADALUPE 257 

archbishop, where the Papal brief authorizing the coro- 
nation was read, and the notarial certificates of the action 
made, and it was received by the archbishop amid the 
clangor of bells and salvos of artillery. 

The event of the coronation revived the discussion of 
the authenticity of the tilma and the image; one bishop 
at least, the Bishop of Tamaulipas, dissented and 
preached against it, and the great agnostic, Senor Don 
Juan Mateos, who has been called the Ingersoll of Mexico, 
opened the flood gates of his splendid oratory against 
the story of the tilma and eulogizing the advancement 
which he saw in the unbelief of a bishop of the church. 
But the legend will go on forever, and it can do no harm, 
even if it only serves for a pretty story. 

The great church fronts on the main plaza of the city 
of Guadalupe, opposite the street that leads to the cause- 
way over which the street cars pass to and from the City 
of Mexico. The church is a massive stone structure with 
a tall tower, filled with bells, on each corner ; the south- 
west tower holds the town clock; the towers are over 
a hundred feet high. The center facade is of stone of 
marble whiteness, handsomely sculptured; twenty stone 
columns support the elaborately carved friezes of the 
first and second elevations; between the sets of two 
columis are life-size figures, also in stone. Immediately 
over the main entrance and in the center of the facade 
is a sculptured representation of the scene in the bishop 's 
house when Juan Diego let the roses fall from his tilma, 
disclosing the image of the Virgin. 

THE STONE SAILS OP GUADALUPE 

Near the church is a stone stairway that leads to the 
Capilla del Cerrito, the Chapel of the Hill, built on the 
spot where the legend says the roses grew in the barren 
rock, at the Virgin's word, for Juan Diego to gather and 
take to the bishop in token of her wish for a temple there. 
About half way up the stairs are the Stone Sails of 



258 THE LEGEND OF GUADALUPE 

Guadalupe, and thereby hangs a tale: Some sailors in 
dire distress in a storm-tossed ship that had lost her 
rudder, prayed to the Virgin of Guadalupe and vowed 
that if she would bring them safe to land they would 
carry the foremast to the Hill of Guadalupe and set the 
sails before her shrine. There the sails are to this day, 
incased in stone, a memorial to the protecting power of 
the Virgin. The date of the placing of this curious work 
remains untold in the annals of Guadalupe. 



CHAPTER XXn 
SOCIAL CONDITIONS IN MEXICO 

There are but two classes of society in Mexico, — those 
who work to live and those who live by the labor of their 
fellow-men, — the one including all the wealth and intelli- 
gence of the country, members of the professions and 
public officials, and the other consisting only of those 
who serve. Between the two there is an almost impass- 
able gulf; for the poor are hopelessly poor, and looked 
upon with contempt, while the high-born, if reduced to 
poverty, prefer starvation to manual labor, which is con- 
sidered as degrading. At present there is no great 
powerful middle class, though such an element is being 
gradually evolved through the social and material prog- 
ress of the country. There is not, as in most of the coun- 
tries of Europe and in the United States, a great body 
politic consisting of farmers, traders, and artisans, many 
of them owning the land which they till, the wares which 
they sell, and the shops and dwellings which they occupy. 
This most important factor in the community, forming 
as it does the very backbone of a nation, is still in process 
of development. Thus the term lower classes, in what- 
ever sense it may be used, signifies in Spanish America 
something different from its meaning elsewhere on this 
continent and perhaps elsewhere in the world. 

The present condition and status of the lower classes 
are matters easy of explanation. Given as a base the 
conquered aboriginals, merged into innumerable castes 
by intermarriage with Africans and Europeans; steep 
them in ignorance and superstition ; grind them for cen- 

259 



260 SOCIAL CONDITIONS IN MEXICO 

turies under the heel of political, ecclesiastical, and social 
despotism, and the result is exactly what might have been 
expected. 

In physique, the Mexican peon is somewhat below 
medium stature, and of slender build, but hardy, and 
remarkably patient of fatigue. The men frequently carry 
for a considerable distance packages of two or three hun- 
dred pounds weight, the load being born on the back and 
shoulders and balanced by a leather strap around the 
forehead and chest, while women support lighter bur- 
dens on their heads, after the fashion of the French and 
Italian peasantry. Their condition is pitiable in the 
extreme; for in the cities they are the servants of 
servants, and in the country, bound by debt or family 
ties, they live, almost as bondsmen, on the haciendas, or 
the mines where dwelt their fathers and forefathers. 

The lowest grade include some of the most abject crea- 
tures on earth, says Bancroft, beings who are almost a 
reproach to humanity, or rather to the European civiliza- 
tion which placed them in a condition far more degraded 
than that of their ancestors under aboriginal regime. 
They are thinly and but partially clad in coarse cotton 
garments, many of them going barefoot and bareheaded ; 
their food consists of whatever they can pick up, and 
at night they huddle together in adobe huts, or sleep 
on the ground wherever they may chance to be when 
night overtakes them. 

USED AS PACK ANIMALS 

Even those who are a little higher in the scale of civil- 
ization are utilized in the cities as pack-animals, and in 
the mines in place of machinery; and yet so fearful are 
they of losing their employment that they destroy all 
labor-saving implements, even though they may tend to 
relieve them of a portion of their burdens. In the streets 
and on the highways they may be seen bearing huge tim- 
bers, loads of adobe, and boxes and packages of 



SOCIAL CONDITIONS IN MEXICO 261 

enormous weight ; and heavy articles, as pianos and iron 
safes, are carried for miles across barrancas almost 
impassable for vehicles. 

But degraded as is the condition of the lower classes 
in Mexico, it has improved somewhat since the era of 
the revolution. Descriptions which have been handed 
down to us of the 20,000 leperos, or lazzaroni, who 
twenty years ago infested the suburbs of the capital, rep- 
resent a scene of poverty, filth and wretchedness almost 
beyond belief. Not long afterward a law was passed 
requesting vagrants to go to work or suffer imprison- 
ment, and this regulation produced a wholesome effect. 
Not that the reform proved radical, for to this day beg- 
gars may be seen who pass their lives standing, like 
statues, by the wayside or on the street corners, rather 
than raise a hand to provide themselves with food. 
Others, shockingly deformed, obstruct the sidewalks, and 
exhibit their twisted frames in mute appeal for aid. 

Nevertheless there are few classes of laborers who do 
more work for less money than the Mexican peon. It is, 
moreover, a significant fact that there are few Chinamen 
in their midst, except on the plantations of the lowlands ; 
for Mongolians cannot compete with them, either in 
amount or quality of labor, or in the straitness of their 
economy. 

PEONS GIVE FAITHFUL SEEVICE 

The employer who keeps faith with his Mexican labor- 
ers, paying them promptly according to his agreement, 
will receive faithful service in return, being acknowledged 
as their master almost by divine right ; for the peons and 
their ancestors have been drilled for centuries in the 
school of servility. So accustomed are they to kicks and 
curses that they regard this species of abuse as incidental 
to their sphere of life. Even when making their pur- 
chases at the stores they look with suspicion on the shop- 
keeper who addresses them politely; for such treatment 



262 SOCIAL CONDITIONS IN MEXICO 

is regarded as significant of dishonest intent. Expecting 
to be asked an exorbitant price for goods, and then to 
obtain a reduction, if a fair equivalent is demanded, from 
which there is no rebate, they seldom purchase, though 
knowing that they can do so at cheaper rates than they 
must pay elsewhere. 

In no respect are the several classes so strictly divided 
as in the regulation of traffic. The tradesmen who receive 
the patronage of the rich never come into competition 
with the provision stores, or bakeries, or pulque-shops 
which supply the wants of the poor. The latter dwell 
and toil apart ; they build their own houses, provide their 
own food and clothing, and even when sick do not venture 
to seek the aid of a physician of aristocratic repute. On 
the one side there is arrogance and contempt ; on the other 
antipathy and indifference; and there is no powerful 
middle class to stand between these opposing elements. 
And yet the people thoroughly understand each other; 
for each one knows his place and his sphere in life. 
Though the streets of the capital are usually thronged, 
there is neither hustling nor crowding, and there are few 
of those unseemly brawls and sickening tragedies which 
occur so frequently in the cities of the northern republic. 
There is little scolding or altercation among the women, 
and there is little violence, either in word or deed, among 
the men. Even rival journalists are urbane, and poli- 
ticians are seldom turbulent, however fiercely may burn 
the fires which underlie the surface. 

ALL GEADES OP CASTE 

Among the upper classes, as among the lower, may be 
found all gradations of caste, in addition to the pure- 
blooded European and the pure-blooded American. In 
point of ability, education, wealth, comfort, and refine- 
ment, the former far excel the standard to which in the 
estimation of foreigners they are entitled; for in these 
respects they are by no means behind the other civilized 



SOCIAL CONDITIONS IN MEXICO 263 

nations of the world. Those who are most prominent in 
society and in politics are exclusive and reticent, making 
no parade of their resources and opportunities; but he 
who attempts to impose on them by superior subtlety and 
shrewdness will surely meet with disappointment. 
Wealth, education and gentility are the principal pass- 
ports to society; but the possession of wealth alone does 
not win recognition for its owner, and all who are but 
one or two degrees removed from the brute condition of 
the peon have rights which are duly respected, though 
they may not possess a dollar in the world. 

The number of Spaniards in Mexico has been esti- 
mated at 30,000, and of other foreigners, apart from 
Americans, at about the same figures, the latter class of 
population being variable, though constantly increasing 
in number. The term foreigner is applied to all who are 
not born in the country, whatever may be their parentage. 
On the other hand, a native of Mexico, though of foreign 
descent, is called a Mexican, if by any political act, as 
voting or accepting office, he has proclaimed his nation- 
ality. As a rule, Europeans are not in sympathy with 
Mexican institutions, holding themselves apart, frequent- 
ing their own clubs and places of resort, and regarding 
the natives with offensive superciliousness. Moreover, 
European merchants have sought to monopolize the trade 
of the country by spreading false reports, by smuggling 
and taking advantage of official corruption, and by help- 
ing to keep the masses in poverty and ignorance, while 
charging the evils produced by their own baseness to the 
faults of a government which they openly despise, in 
common with everything else that is Mexican. 

LABOE IS ABUNDANT 

Labor is abundant in Mexico ; in some places the supply 
is greater than the demand, and as the laboring classes 
can live on such frugal diet and need so little clothing, 
wages, except for imported skilled labor, are small. 



264 SOCIAL CONDITIONS IN MEXICO 

Speaking of these classes, a Mexican newspaper says : 
*' One of their greatest evils at the present time is the 
existence of a scale of wages which defies all power of 
reduction ; which robs the laborers of all sense of dignity, 
or feeling of association with the rest of their fellow 
citizens, and having reduced them to a condition of abject 
debasement, deteriorates to a like extent their productive 
power and the measure of their utility. Instead of claim- 
ing and occupying the position of an important and essen- 
tial element in the process of the development of the 
country's resources, they, the laboring classes, are con- 
tent to regard themselves as a plant, or machinery which 
moves by extraneous aids only, and has no power of voli- 
tion, and no desire to exercise it if it had." 

Mr. John Bigelow, late minister to France, once said 
that the laborers of Mexico lived at less expense than a 
farm horse in a New England state. 

A VEKITABLE FEUDAL SYSTEM 

The hacendados, as the large landowners are called, 
own inamense tracts of land, and the hacienda, or manor, 
is a congregation of buildings forming, at times, quite a 
settlement, and is generally fortified. The hacendado 
usually works his possessions in accordance with the tra- 
ditions handed down from the time of the Spanish Con- 
quest — a veritable feudal system. He is not only a land- 
owner, but he is a dealer in provisions, clothing, etc. His 
peons, as the laborers and the tillers of his soil are called, 
are descended from those his father had before him, and 
they are paid, live, and work as their progenitors were 
and did. The peon is born under the shadow of his mas- 
ter's house, grows up and remains under him, following 
his father's steps in everything, using the same imple- 
ments, and receiving the same pay, generally from 27 to 
371/^ cents a day. On many of these haciendas the Indian 
may be seen clad as were his prototypes on the banks of 
the Nile, and handling tools and working in the same 



SOCIAL CONDITIONS IN MEXICO 265 

manner as those that toiled when the Pharaohs reigned. 
The best wages are paid in Yucatan. 

MEXICAN AECHITECTUBE 

The prevailing style of architecture throughout Mexico, 
so far as regards what may be termed modern buildings 
as contradistinguished from the ruined temples and pal- 
aces of the Eepublic, is the Spanish renaissance. The 
cathedrals and churches are all built in this style. Ara- 
besque work and stone carvings ornament the facades of 
nearly all religious edifices. Governmental buildings and 
those devoted to public uses are generally imposing and 
commodious. The National Palace in Mexico City has a 
frontage of 675 feet and is two stories high. 

Private houses are always substantially built, generally 
in a rectangular form around a courtyard. It is rare, 
except at the capital, to see a private residence over two 
stories high. The roofs are flat, with a wall running 
entirely around them. The roof is called the azotea, and 
in the warmer region is often utilized by the residents 
for sleeping purposes during the dry season. Growing 
plants and shrubs are often to be seen in the azotea and 
in the courtyard. The windows of the houses are gen- 
erally barred with railings of iron. The larger residences 
are constructed of igneous rock, such as porous amygda- 
loid, porphyry, or trachyte. Dwellings are made usually 
of brick and tepetate (a kind of clay thickly sprinkled 
with sand and pebbles, which is soft when taken out of 
the deposit, but on exposure becomes exceedingly hard) 
and are stuccoed. 

On the table-lands houses in the smaller towns and 
villages are constructed of adobe, a sun-dried brick made 
of dark clay mixed with straw. 

COST OF LIVING 

It may be said in a general way that the cost of living 
in Mexico is not great, although, of course, it varies in 



266 SOCIAL CONDITIONS IN MEXICO 

different localities. In the interior towns and villages 
the common necessaries of life, such as beef, vegetables, 
etc., are cheap. Coffee and tea, the latter being very sel- 
dom used or seen in the interior, are dear. Luxuries are 
not to be thought of, as they are only procurable from 
distant points and at great expense. Imported German 
beer and English ale in some cities of the interior costs 
75 cents a pint. Butter, when it is procurable, and it is 
sometimes made without salt, is very expensive. If one 
can accustom himself to the rich, highly-seasoned food, 
and does not object to a considerable sameness in and a 
limited bill of fare, meals may be had at hotels in the 
interior for about 50 cents each. Board and lodging at 
these hotels range from $2 to $2.50 per day. 

In the City of Mexico living is more expensive. Hotels 
charge from $2.50 to $5 per day. Good meals may be 
procured at any first-class restaurant for $1. 

Ready-made clothing, except of an inferior quality, is 
not to be had; but imported English and French cloth 
is made up into suits at about the same cost as in the 
United States. The large dry-goods establishments, mil- 
linery stores, etc., are as well stocked as those of the 
larger cities of the United States and for imported goods 
the prices vary very little from those prevailing in the 
latter country. 

EENTS AEE HIGH 

Rents in the City of Mexico, however, are very high. 
This is due not so much to the rapacity of the landlords 
as to the cost of the house-building and other reasons. 
Landlords, when renting their houses, have to pay into 
the municipal coffers a tax of 12 per cent on the annual 
rental, besides pavement, drainage, water and stamp 
taxes. The expense in taxes on a house costing $10,000 
to build and renting for $75 per month is $13.08 per 
month, or about liy^ per cent of the receipts. 

There is not much money to be saved by hiring private 



SOCIAL CONDITIONS IN MEXICO 267 

lodgings unless it is proposed to take them for a pro- 
tracted period. Furnished rooms in desirable localities 
cost nearly as much as hotel apartments. Although un- 
furnished rooms may be secured, the cost for furnishing 
them is very considerable ; still they rent for about one- 
half the amount charged for furnished rooms. Casas de 
huespedes, corresponding to the American boarding 
house, abound, but as a rule the meals served are not of 
the best. Their charges are relatively moderate. 

The hotels are generally not provided with baths, but 
in Mexico City, as well as in every interior city and town, 
there are excellent public baths. 

The peons in the warm, well-wooded regions, build of 
wood, palm leaves, and stalks ; in the table-lands, of adobe, 
the houses having flat roofs of stamped clay supported 
by beams. 

In the Indian villages the rudest possible habitations 
are to be seen, often being mere frameworks of limbs 
of trees with the bark on and thatched in on all sides with 
grass, palm leaves, or stalks. 

PUBLIC POKTEES 

A considerable number of the Indian population act 
as public porters on the highways. Men and women 
engage in this occupation, and many use alpenstocks 
while walking. An ordinary porter will carry a load of 
one hundred and fifty pounds for a distance of twenty 
miles daily. All kinds of merchandise are transported 
on the backs of porters. 

One Mexican traveler reports that he saw an Indian 
carrying a large sofa on the road from the City of Mexico 
to Cuernavaca. It was fastened to his body by means of 
ropes and straps passing across his breast and forehead, 
and extending under his arms. 

During the eighteenth century the Spanish priests are 
said to have imported donkeys, or burros, in large num- 
bers to take the place of porters in carrying burdens. 
But the porters still follow their profession. 



268 SOCIAL CONDITIONS IN MEXICO 

The laboring classes of Mexico are exceedingly jealous 
of the introduction of labor-saving machinery. They 
regard it as an unwarranted means of preventing them 
from earning a living. Two occurrences in recent years, 
related by Alfred R. Conkling, will serve to illustrate the 
antagonism of the peons to modern improvements : 

Soon after the adoption of the compressed air-brake on 
the railroads of the United States, the Mexican Railway 
Company discharged several of their brakemen and intro- 
duced this improved brake on their trains. The com- 
pany's servants rebelled against this system, and stole 
the stopcocks from the air-pipes, thereby compelling their 
employers to reinstate them. 

Recently the owner of a large hacienda purchased an 
outfit of American agricultural implements. His peons 
saw in them an unjustifiable interference with their own 
methods of farming, and in the course of a few weeks the 
enlightened hacendado discovered to his surprise that his 
stock of instruments had been destroyed. These facts 
are significant, but fortunately the intense feeling against 
new inventions and improved machines is confined to the 
lowest laboring classes. 

In constructing railroads, the contractors introduced 
the wheelbarrow among the peons. They carried it on 
their heads when filled with earth, and it was found that 
more work could be done with a gunny-bag held on the 
shoulders. 

MEXICAN COSTUMES 

The upper classes, especially the government officials, 
in Mexico, have in recent years discarded the national 
costume, and now wear the European dress. Black coats 
and silk hats are as commonly seen on the Plaza Mayor 
of the City of Mexico as on Broadway or Fifth Avenue. 

There is a great variety of costumes, however, among 
the country gentlemen, and among both sexes in the lower 



SOCIAL CONDITIONS IN MEXICO 269 

classes. The Mexican liat, or sombrero, is the most 
prominent part of the national dress. It is either of felt 
or straw, and has a very wide brim. When made of the 
former material, the color varies from light gray to brown 
and black. The crown is trimmed with a silver band, and 
the brim is oftentimes heavily embroidered with silver 
thread. The cords around the crown are either single, 
double or quadruple, and small silver ornaments called 
chapetas are attached to both sides of it. Straw hats are 
generally provided with puffed bands of the same mate- 
rial, and occasionally silver cords are worn on them. 
The peasantry wear plain straw hats and white cotton 
shirts and trousers. Cloaks of water-flags or palm-leaf 
strips are used by the Indians. They are impervious to 
the rain. 

A zarape, or blanket woven either of woolen goods or 
of both wool and cotton, is worn in the early morning and 
in the evening. An infinite variety of patterns may be 
seen in these zarapes. Stripes of various shades of red, 
yellow, and brown, are the prevailing colors. Unlike 
the ponchos and mangas of Spain, the sarapes are thrown 
over the shoulder instead of inserting the head through 
a hole or slit in the middle. However, some of the latter 
style of blankets are worn, especially by diligence-drivers 
and donkey-boys. Stage-coachmen also wear leggings 
embossed with large nail-heads. 

Huaraches, or leathern sandals, fastened with straps 
over the instep and across the ball of the foot, take the 
place of boots or shoes among the lower classes. 

The usual style of dress among the peasant women con- 
sists of a white waist and skirt, with a blue scarf or shawl 
( rebozo ) . Straw hats, like those worn by the poorer class 
of men, are donned by the women. 

The ladies in cities are generally dressed in plain black, 
and without a bonnet. They carry black silk parasols and 
black fans. The mantilla is now generally disused. Since 



270 SOCIAL CONDITIONS IN MEXICO 

1881 young ladies, especially in the City of Mexico, have 
been wearing hats of foreign make and dresses of various 
colors. 

The American consul at the capital in 1880 said that 
his wife was compelled to send to the United States for a 
bonnet, being unable to purchase one in the City of 
Mexico. 

The hacendados and country gentlemen usually wear 
suits of black cloth, consisting of a short jacket with sil- 
ver buttons, a waistcoat cut low, and pantaloons open- 
ing on the outside of the leg, with two rows of fancy silver 
buttons along the outer seam. A faja, or sash, which is 
commonly of a red color, is added to the costume, and 
the boots are made with high heels. This dress is worn 
in the tier r a fria (colder regions), and in the upper part 
of the tierra templada (temperate region). In the tierra 
caliente (hot country), the gentry wear plain white cot- 
ton suits with sombreros of felt or straw. In riding 
through the underbrush, chaparraleros, or loose leather 
trousers, are worn over the ordinary pantaloons. Except 
in the large cities, swords or machetes are usually 
attached to the saddle-bow. 



CHAPTEE XXni 
THE ALCABALA SYSTEM 

The alcabala system of taxation in Mexico is so little 
understood abroad that it will not be out of place to give 
a short resume of it here. Escriche, in his law dictionary, 
defines the word " alcabala " as follows: ** The tribute 
tax charged upon the proceeds of all sales or barters, 
which is paid into the public treasury. ' ' 

The etymology of the word is doubtful. It is not known 
whether it is of Moorish, Hebrew or Latin origin, or is a 
corruption of the Spanish phrase algo que valga {al que 
vala), which means '' something of value." 

The alcabala was first established in Mexico at the 
beginning of the year 1575, and the tax could be farmed 
out to corporations, civil or municipal, or individuals, 
being purchaseable at public auction. The term '* alca- 
bala " was generic and included import duties as well as 
the tax on sales. Under this system the exportation of 
articles, especially of precious metals, which were greatly 
handicapped by excessive duties, was restricted. 

The first alcabala laws promulgated in Mexico, or New 
Spain, in the course of time were gradually modified, and 
assuming different forms and expanding, constituted 
eventually a complete branch of jurisdiction. 

The commercial movement of the Spanish colonies was 
much impeded by the Spanish laws, or as was stated by a 
writer in a Mexican publication, '^ was subject to regula- 
tions which, by an inexplicable contradiction, were called 
free trade regulations." These regulations prohibited 

271 



272 THE ALCABALA SYSTEM 

the interning of foreign goods and manufactures in tlie 
colonies. 

After Mexico secured her independence and established 
her autonomy, the first governments were obliged to con- 
tinue under the fiscal system which previously obtained 
for fear of reducing the revenues and also because of the 
transitory character of the governments. 

Thus, in 1821, and for years afterwards, the alcabala 
system was organized and worked as it was under the 
vice-regal regime, with the exception of some modifica- 
tions in the matter of the number and salaries of employes 
and the amount of tax on certain articles. These changes 
did not reduce the tax, however, as it continued to be 
more burdensome, many articles having to pay 16 per cent 
ad valorem. 

EEFORMS IITTEODUCED IN 1830. 

About the year 1830 certain radical reforms were intro- 
duced, establishing the regulations to be observed in the 
collection of the alcabala, which, however, only served to 
restrict trade and hamper the freedom of the transit 
of goods. Under these regulations through goods sub- 
ject to duty carried to a destination known under the 
system as distinto suelo (literally, different soil) had to 
pay another tax, which was not imposed in case the goods 
were destined to another point of the same soil. To 
explain: Cordova was the center for the collections of 
the tax, and had four other soils dependent on it, viz., 
Coscomatepec, Huatusco, Tomatlan and Zongolica, to 
which places goods having paid the alcabala at Cordova 
could be transported and disposed of without incurring 
further duties. Should goods, however, be introduced 
into a soil not within the jurisdiction of the collection 
center, they would be liable to new duties. 

This obstacle to the free transit of goods was all the 
more injurious and far-reaching as the number of soils 



i 




Patio of a wealthy xMexican's residence 




Home of family descended from the Aztecs 




'Ovens" or Mortuary Vaults, Pantheon at Guanajuato 




First-class Funeral Car on Mexican Street Railway 



THE ALCABALA SYSTEM 273 

into which the country was divided was increased, and 
there were at one time 276 different soils in the Republic. 

The alcabala legislation of this period declared a 5 per 
cent extra tax on consumption, over and above duties, 
on foreign products and manufactures. Foreign liquors 
were taxed 10 per cent extra. Four-fifths of the 5 per 
cent tax and nin ^-tenths of the 10 per cent went to the 
federal treasury, the residue being turned into the treas- 
ury of the state collecting the same. 

The coastwise trade was less hampered, a system of 
permits prevailing under which a trader going from port 
to port paid the duties on the goods as they were sold, 
the permits covering the articles disposed of becoming 
void. Warehouses were established for the coasting 
trade where merchandise might be deposited for a period 
of forty days, at the expiration of which time the owner 
was required to remove the goods, failing to do which he 
was charged a half real (614 cents) per day for each 
package, piece, bale, barrel or case. Should the with- 
drawal of the goods be delayed for forty days longer the 
customs officers, after summoning the owner, proceeded 
to the inspection, appraisement, and assessment of the 
goods and sold the same, or such portion as might be 
necessary, to liquidate the duties. 

OFFICIAL MEANING IN 1839. 

In 1839 the administration declared the official mean- 
ing of the word alcabala to be : 

'' The tax on the price of property, sold or bartered, 
which the seller or barterer pays to the public treasury." 

This tax was 12 per cent on the majority of taxable 
articles and was divided into fixed and contingent tax, the 
former being the 6 per cent levied from the year 1639 on 
all sales, barters or transfers of taxable things, and the 
latter being 6 per cent added to the alcabala in 1817 in 



274 THE ALCABALA SYSTEM 

place of certain war taxes levied to carry on the struggle 
for independence. 

During the period of the dictatorship, offices for the 
collection of the alcabala were opened in the states and 
territories, and all collections were turned into the gen- 
eral treasury. 

As regards collection, the tax on consumption of for- 
eign goods and the alcabala on domestic articles were 
payable at the port of introduction, the place of sale, or 
of final destination, according to the regulations for the 
coastwise trade and other regulations in force previous 
to the establishment of the federal system. 

In 1857 the federal congress amended the constitution 
by adding Article 124 thereto, which article abolished the 
alcabala tax and interior custom houses throughout the 
Eepublic on and after June 1, 1858. This amendment had 
little effect, however, and might be classed as a dead 
letter. 

Since 1880, the alcabala has continued to be the most 
general tax in the country. 

But little can be said of the tax laws in the several 
states of Mexico, for they are in a very unsettled condi- 
tion. The abolishing of the internal custom houses cut 
off much of their revenue. 



CHAPTER XXIV 
BANDITS AND THEIR WORK 

The most picturesque of all Mexican classes are the 
rurales, or '' country police," whose salaries are paid 
by the government of the country instead of by the local 
authorities. The duty of these men is to preserve peace 
in the country districts in the same way that regular 
policemen preserve peace in American cities. Among 
these men are found some of the best horsemen in the 
world; they are accurate shots with rifle and revolver 
and wear the typical uniform of Mexican soldiery, con- 
sisting of trousers tight about the hips and flaring at 
the bottom, a soft shirt, a short jacket, a broad som- 
brero, and a gay-colored sash hung about the waist. 

The rurales were an institution of President Diaz, who 
picked the men from the bandits that during the early 
years of his regime infested the country. He paid them 
better salaries than the total they could make by brigand- 
age, raised them to a certain position of distinction, and 
made the office of a rurale a thing to be aspired to. The 
men he chose proved worthy of the trust he imposed in 
them and as the system spread throughout Mexico Diaz 
evolved a wonderful instrument for suppressing revolts 
in their incipient stages. 

WEAPONS OF AN IKON HAND 

The rurales were the great weapon of the iron hand 
with which Diaz ruled the country. Upon arrest by the 
rurales the leaders of any insurrection were invariably 
put to death, in reality at the order of Diaz or his lieu- 

275 



276 BANDITS AND THEIR WORK 

tenants, but appearing in the public records as having 
been '' killed while attempting to escape." 

The rurales were in constant and active service and 
well able to keep in hand any situation that arose, until 
the revolution instituted by Madero, whom the people 
believed was a true champion of their rights, took the 
popular fancy and revolt flamed widespread. The groups 
of bandits posing as allies of Madero become so numer- 
ous that the rurales lost control of the situation. Mur- 
der, pillage and looting progressed on every hand and 
the rurales saw the lowest laboring men making more 
money by being bandits than they themselves — the 
rurales — were making. Then on every hand they sev- 
ered their affiliation with Diaz and themselves became 
the most bloodthirsty of all bandit organizations. 

BISE OF BANDIT LEADEES 

The lash of the rurales removed, brigandage became 
the chief occupation of many men in the rural districts. 
Farming and agriculture were neglected, and the country 
rapidly sank into a state of demoralization. Natural 
leaders on a small scale rose by the dozen. Men that 
had been the poorest workers and the laziest men on the 
haciendas quietly vanished from sight along with a band 
of a dozen other men, and a month or so later some fellow 
hitherto considered worthless would reappear at the 
ranch at the head of a body of a hundred or more mounted 
men. Demands would be made on the American owners 
of the ranch for horses, rifles and provisions, under 
threat of general slaughter if the demands were refused. 
Invariably, however, the Americans gave in to the de- 
mands, because they knew that to offer resistance was 
almost futile, as the men still remaining on the ranch, 
at the firing of the first shot, would just as likely as not 
flock to the side of the bandits, or still worse, commence 
shooting at the Americans from places of protection 
within. 



BANDITS AND THEIR WOEK 277 

Starting afoot or with miserable mounts, and armed 
often only with the machete or scythe he was using when 
the inspiration came to him to join a passing band of 
brigands, the lowliest of laborers in less than a month, 
after a few successful attacks on prosperous ranches, 
would find himself riding a superb horse, modernly 
armed, and wearing clothes which a short time before 
adorned the back of some wealthy Mexican landowner. 
The result, of course, when such a person returned to 
the ranch where he had been originally at work, was to 
inspire envy in the hearts of the men who did not become 
bandits, and set them to following in the footsteps of 
their comrade. 

A TYPICAL CASE 

A case in point was the attack in the fall of 1912 upon 
the Hacienda Quimichis, territory of Tepic, located about 
seventy miles south from Mazatlan. Shortly before mid- 
night the Americans on the ranch were awakened by the 
sound of a horse pounding along the road toward the 
ranch-house. The rider dismounted at the gate, knocked 
loudly at the door, and was admitted after identifying 
himself as a mozo in the employ of the ranch. 

He said that he had been riding in the vicinity of the 
ranch-house and in the distance had seen a body of horse- 
men quietly approaching. He knew that they could not 
be employes of the ranch and said he surmised they were 
bandits. 

A few minutes after his arrival several men appeared 
before the great gate of the ranch-house and demanded 
admittance. The manager of the ranch went out onto 
a little balcony above the doorway and replied that he 
would not admit them until they stated their business. 
Then in a cold, matter-of-fact way the leader of the band, 
Guido Hilago, who a few weeks prior to this time had 
been employed at the ranch as a butcher boy, told the 
manager who he was, said that he had a hundred Mex- 



278 BANDITS AND THEIR WORK 

icans hidden a short distance away behind some build- 
ings, and demanded that the ranch-owners give up cer- 
tain rifles that Hilago said he knew to be stored in the 
ranch headquarters. He also demanded that he be given 
certain horses. Hilago made threats which stirred the 
ire of the manager and he refused to accede to the 
demands. Hilago then withdrew. 

rOKCED TO DESEET THE EANCH 

A few minutes later, behind almost every bush, the 
Americans saw Mexicans stealthily advancing as they 
kept in the dark shadows. The manager and eight other 
American men on the ranch took position behind loop- 
holes and at a given signal opened fire. It was returned 
by the bandits, but without any of the Americans being 
wounded. A rapid fire was kept up on the part of the 
Americans and several Mexicans fell. 

Surprised by the unexpected resistance offered them, 
the Mexicans withdrew for a conference. While this 
was in progress the Americans also held a hurried con- 
sultation and it was decided that as there were American 
women on the hacienda it would be best to take advan- 
tage of an avenue of escape which was offered them by 
a river which flowed to the sea and passed the ranch- 
house several hundred yards in the rear. They escaped 
to the river, boarded canoes, and two days later were 
picked up by an American vessel standing at sea off 
the mouth of the river. Their property was deserted and 
left at the mercy of the bandits. 

OTHEK EXCITING EXPERIENCES 

Experiences of other Americans in Mexico were even 
more exciting. 

Among the refugees compelled to leave Mexico in 1913 
by the transport " Buford " was Alphonse Ardourel, a 
mining engineer of Boulder, Colo., state senator from 
his district in the Colorado Legislature. He had been 



BANDITS AND THEIR WOEK 279 

mining at Cumiiripa, Sonora, up the Yaqui Eiver from 
Corral station. So bad had conditions become, accord- 
ing to Mr. Ardourel, tliat it was impossible for him to 
remain longer in the country. All the Americans except 
himself had left, taking what advantage they could of 
the railroad, which had already had its service inter- 
rupted several times by burned bridges. For weeks, he 
says, every train had been crowded with Americans has- 
tening to the border, where they found refuge on the 
other side of Nogales. All work and business had been 
paralyzed on the Yaqui River, where the Indians were 
on the warpath. 

After two or three bands of Yaquis had raided 
Cumuripa, Mr. Ardourel finally gave up his work. As it 
happened, the train which he took out was the last train 
the railroad was able to run south of Empalme. On 
arrival at Guaymas, he purchased his ticket, but was 
assured by the chief dispatcher of the railroad that if the 
revoltosos burned another bridge on the line to Nogales, 
the railroad would tie up completely and not turn another 
wheel. He decided to risk being turned back, however, 
and left Guaymas on the morning of April 27, 1913. 
Before reaching Carbo, Sonora, however, the train was 
fired into by about one hundred mounted Yaquis, who 
sat their horses beside the track, and fired a volley into 
each coach as it passed. In the second-class coach ahead, 
one woman was killed, three bullets riddling her body, 
and the child she carried in her arms breaking its neck 
as the mother fell forward across the car seats. In the 
seat in front of Mr. Ardourel a man was killed instantly 
by a shot through the temple and fell in the car aisle. 

The train then put back to Guaymas. Neither the train 
crew nor the passengers were able to discover which 
political party the Yaquis were fighting for, nor did they 
tarry long to try to learn their reasons for firing into an 
unprotected passenger train. In common with all the 
Americans who are refugees from Mexico, Mr. Ardourel 



280 BANDITS AND THEIR WORK 

believes that neither peons nor Indians were fighting for 
any political party, but for the possible plunder and loot, 
and on account of the general lawlessness which the 
anarchistic conditions in Mexico encouraged. 

GETTING OUT OF THE COUNTRY 

At Guaymas, Mr. Ardourel, after six days, secured 
passage on the steamer *^ Ramon Corral," for Mazatlan, 
but while lying at dock in the harbor of Topolobampo 
she took fire. It was from this point that the manager of 
the Navalato Sugar Company made a famous ride on a 
locomotive to San Bias, and hired four section crews 
of the Southern Pacific Railway of Mexico, at an enor- 
mous price, to carry him the one hundred and fifty miles 
to Culiacan, from which point he reached the Americans 
on his sugar plantation at Navalato. 

The fire on the ' ' Corral ' ' gained much headway before 
it was discovered. The main portion of the cargo was 
alcohol and gasoline, and had it not been for the presence 
of mind of an American locomotive engineer who was 
at the time switching in the yards, and came to the ship's 
rescue with a tank car backed up to his engine, an explo- 
sion would probably have been the fate of the steamer. 
As it was, the entire baggage and personal effects of the 
Americans on board was destroyed, though Mr. Ardourel 
believes the fire was a pretext for loot on the part of the 
crew, and says he found later a portion of his belongings 
which he had been told were destroyed in the fire, care- 
fully concealed in the steward's room. 

From Topolobampo, the ** Corral " put to sea in her 
crippled condition, and after four days of sleeping on 
deck, and with scarcely any food, the American refugees 
reached the port of Mazatlan, where the transport 
* ' Buf ord ' ' took them on board. 

** The stars and stripes flying at the ' Buf ord 's ' miz- 
zen," said Mr. Ardourel, *' when she appeared on the 
horizon oif Mazatlan, looked awfully good to me." 



BANDITS AND THEIR WORK 281 

ANOTHER EEFUGEE's STOEY 

J. C. Alberts, an electrical engineer of Los Angeles, 
and Joseph Soler, his wife and three children, also of 
Los Angeles, who had charge of the commissary and 
subsistence department of the Tajo Mining Company, 
at El Rosario, Sinaloa, report their experiences as 
follows : 

*' We were driven out of our homes, and from our 
work and living, by the attack of the Zapatistas, under 
command of Juan Canedo, which took place on Saturday 
morning, April 29, 1913, and lasted all that day, and until 
Sunday afternoon, when the federal forces under Gen- 
eral Ojeda came up on the attacking party's rear, and 
put them to flight, with 64 killed. It was a curious fact 
to us, at the time, when we saw the dead being brought 
into town, that there were so very few wounded. Most 
of the dead, however, had several bullet holes in them. 
I had sent out my wife two months earlier, when the first 
of the trouble began, and General Ojeda furnished us 
an escort of soldiers to protect the carriage of Mr. Soler 
and his family. I awaited the last day before the arrival 
of the '' Buford," which the United States government 
sent to take us off, and in common with all the Ameri- 
cans on the west coast, believing that to be the first of 
Uncle Sam's moves toward intervention, decided it was 
better not to remain. 

ATTACK BY EEBEL CHIEP 

** Trouble had been brewing," he continued, ** for 
some time in southern Sinaloa. On the last day of Feb- 
ruary, Juan Canedo rode into town with fifteen men, 
without warning. This is not the usual procedure, for 
most of the rebel chiefs demand a town's surrender with 
a threatening letter, before they attempt to force it. The 
letter usually is enough, and the government's prefect, 
police, rurales, and all the officials of the town, like the 
postmaster, federal telegraph operator, judge, mayor, 



282 BANDITS AND THEIR WOEK 

jail guard, etc., flee at once. Getting opposite the prefec- ^ 
tura, Canedo and his men galloped across the plaza, and 
charged right against the doors, just as the frightened 
police, who had hastily gathered inside, slammed the 
door. The prefect, a new man, and a brave one, went 
to the window above, and going onto the balcony ordered 
Canedo and his men to disperse, and fired his revolver 
into them, killing one horse. The revoUosos (rebels) 
replied with a scattered volley, and galloped off down 
the street, followed by the police, shooting at anyone 
they saw looking from door or window. 

ZAPATISTAS COME IN FORCE 

* * One week later, while we were out on the power trans- 
mission line of the mining company, some of my men 
called my attention to a band of armed men on the oppo- 
site side of the river, moving through the heavy under- 
growth which borders its banks. ^ RevoUosos,' said they. 
* No,' said I, ' too many of them. Federals.' 

'* But it was impossible to get the men back to work, 
and suddenly they all cut together, pell-mell down the 
hill for the camp; for if there is anything a peaceable 
Mexican likes less than a Zapatista, it is a Yaqui Indian. 

" I stood and watched them for some half-hour from 
the hillside, as they gathered both above and below the 
ford, but a bullet striking on the ground near me, I 
stepped down into a ditch out of sight. There was firing 
going on continually, the Federals defending the town 
from the tower of the cathedral. Most of the Zapatistas 
were armed with "Winchesters and the Federals with 
Mausers. The attacking party numbered about 200 men. 
Many bullets narrowly missed me before I could make 
my way back to my house. 

" In that part of Mexico," said Mr. Alberts in con- 
clusion, '■'■ conditions are dreadful. Business is para^ 
lyzed. All industries are closed down. The ranchers 
cannot harvest their crops. Famine stares Mexico in 



BANDITS AND THEIR WORK 283 

the face inside of one year. There is no government, law, 
order, police, prefects, or authorities. If one man robs 
or murders another, there is no one to interfere. As 
most Mexicans are undetained from violence by the 
standard of their ethical training, a strong hand and a 
government like that of the United States are the only 
things they respect or fear. Now there is neither justice 
in the courts, nor protection of life or property on the 
whole Mexican west coast." 



CHAPTER XXV 
FACTS ABOUT MEXICO 

AEEA AND POPULATION 

The total area of the Republic of Mexico, including 
islands, is 767,005 square miles. The population, accord- 
ing to the federal census of 1910, is 15,063,207. The pop- 
ulation of leading cities of the republic is as follows: 
City of Mexico (capital), 470,659; Guadalajara, 118,799; 
Puebla, 101,214; Monterey, 81,006; San Luis Potosi, 
82,946; Pachuca, 38,620; Aguas Calientes, 44,800; Zaca- 
tecas, 25,905; Durango, 34,085; Toluca, 31,247; Leon, 
63,263; Merida, 61,999; Queretaro, 35,011; Morelia, 
39,116; Oaxaca, 37,469; Orizaba, 32,894; Chihuahua, 
39,061; Vera Cruz, 29,164. 

TWO KACIAL STOCKS 

The Mexican nation is composed of two racial stocks. 
Nearly one-half of the people are of mixed Indian and 
Spanish blood, about one-third are of pure Indian descent, 
and the remainder are of European ancestry, descendants 
of Spanish colonists who immigrated under Spanish rule. 
The Mexicans of pure Indian blood range in the social 
scale from the city Indians, who have acquired the ways 
and ideas of Spanish- American civilization, to the unciv- 
ilized wild tribes of the unsettled wilderness in the 
extreme southern and northern states. The Indians of 
the cities and farming regions are a sober and hard- 
working people, capable of much physical endurance, but 
as a rule unambitious and unprogressive. Some, how- 
ever, have become distinguished men. President Juarez 

284 



FACTS ABOUT MEXICO 285 

was a pure-blooded Indian. The Mexicans of pure Span- 
ish blood are also conservative in ideas, but they main- 
tain the European modes of life of their ancestors and 
preserve Spanish culture. They are the real leaders of 
Mexican social life and dominate in political effort. 

The population of mixed blood combines much of the 
genius of Spanish ancestry with the vitality of Indian 
blood. Under the stimulus of education and political 
experience this element is showing an ability in practical 
affairs that seems to guarantee a strong national devel- 
opment for the Republic. 

EELIGION" AND EDUCATION" 

The prevailing religion of Mexico is Eoman Catholic. 
The clergy formerly possessed great political influence, 
but since 1859 it has largely lost it through the confisca- 
tion of church property by the government and the enact- 
ment of repressive laws. Marriage has been made a civil 
ceremony, convents have been suppressed, and religious 
instruction barred out of the public schools. Protestant- 
ism has secured a foothold among the Mexicans, but exists 
feebly. 

Education is in a backward state. Public schools exist 
under the control of the federal government, and since 
1896 primary education has been compulsory in the dis- 
tricts directly under federal control. In nearly every 
state the law provides for free schools and compulsory 
attendance, but there is no strict enforcement of the law. 
At the national capital there are excellent schools of law, 
medicine, and engineering. School statistics show more 
than 10,000 public schools in the country and about 2,600 
private schools. The Indian population, however, is prac- 
tically illiterate. 

PKINCIPAL CITIES OP MEXICO 

The principal cities, besides the City of Mexico, 
described elsewhere, are as follows : 



286 FACTS ABOUT MEXICO 

Toluca, capital of the state of Mexico and its principal 
commercial town, is situated forty-five miles from the 
City of Mexico and 8,000 feet above the sea level. The 
state is one of the most important agricultural and indus- 
trial sections in Mexico. The climate varies with the 
altitude. Stock-raising is an important source of wealth, 
and valuable mineral deposits are worked. 

Puebla, capital of the state of the same name, lies 
southeast of the City of Mexico and at practically the 
same elevation. The great volcanic cones of Popocatapetl 
and Ixtaccihuatl lie to the west in full view of the city. 
Puebla has extensive manufactures of cotton cloth, pot- 
tery, and glassware, and important agricultural interests. 

Guanajuato is the capital of the state of the same name, 
a region rich in minerals and one of the most important 
mercantile and industrial centers of Mexico. The total 
trade of the state has an estimated annual value of about 
$67,000,000. The capital city was the scene of the execu- 
tion of a number of patriots during the war for independ- 
ence in 1811. 

San Luis Potosi, capital of the state of the same name, 
is situated in a broad, fertile valley, rich in silver. The 
productive Potosi mines became known to Europeans in 
the sixteenth century. The capital, founded in 1576, is an 
important railway center with thriving manufactures of 
shoes, hats, and hardware. Trade is large and increasing. 

Monterey, capital of the state of Nuevo Leon, has many 
manufacturing establishments and is the commercial cen- 
ter of northern Mexico ; the city is located in a great plain, 
flanked by the Sierra Madre and Sierra de Picachos 
mountains. 

Saltillo, capital of the state of Coahuila, is noted for 
the manufacture of zarapes, cotton cloth, knit goods, and 
flour. Owing to its mild and genial climate, the city is a 
favorite summer resort. 

Durango, capital of the state of the same name, is a 
prosperous town with modern municipal improvements 



FACTS ABOUT MEXICO 287 

and floTirisliing sugar, flour, and woolen mills and foun- 
dries. It is also a banking center. 

Vera Cruz, the commercial capital of the state of 
Vera Cruz, has an annual trade amounting to about 
$100,000,000. 

Guadalajara, capital of the state of Jalisco, is a beauti- 
ful city situated 6,100 feet above the sea level. The agri- 
cultural, manufacturing, and commercial interests of the 
state are of considerable importance. 

Culiacan, capital of the state of Sinaloa, is an important 
commercial center with cotton manufactories. The state 
is well watered and a number of its rivers are navigable. 
The chief agricultural products of the hot belt of this 
state are corn, wheat, sugar-cane, rum, henequen, and 
mescal; the raising of cattle is important. In the cold, 
wet mountain region are mines of wonderful richness. 

EIVTEKS AND LAKES 

Owing to its extremely mountainous character, Mexico 
has very few permanent rivers. Even the Rio Grrande, 
the largest stream, at times becomes almost dry between 
El Paso and Ojinaga (Presidio del Norte) in consequence 
of the diversion of water for irrigation in New Mexico. 

The Rio Grande is navigable, for small boats only, for 
about 450 miles. The most important stream of the north 
is the Conchos, an affluent of the Rio Grande, which flows 
through the state of Chihuahua. In southern Mexico two 
considerable rivers flow into the Pacific — the Grande de 
Santiago or Lerma, principally in the state of Jalisco, 
and the Rio de las Balsas, navigable for a short distance 
in its course through and along the northern borders of 
the state of Guerrero. The Grijalva and Usumacinta 
rivers, with the tributaries, afford the only navigable 
waterways worthy of note in the Isthmus of Tehuantepec. 

The principal lake region of Mexico is within the states 
of Michoacan and Jalisco. Lake Chapala, on the border 
line, eighty miles long and thirty miles wide, is by far 



288 FACTS ABOUT MEXICO 

the largest inland body of water. In the Valley of Mexico 
is a group of lakes which has a history unique in the 
annals of hydraulic engineering. The valley is an 
immense basin largely occupied by these shallow bodies 
of water. Not only were destructive inundations fre- 
quent, but the miasmatic exhalations from the stagnant 
lakes made Mexico the most unhealthful city in the world. 
Under the Spanish viceroys large sums were expended 
and hundreds of thousands of lives were sacrificed in 
the fruitless endeavor to drain the valley, but under the 
government of President Diaz the drainage plan of the 
Spaniards, with certain modifications, was realized, the 
system having cost more than $20,000,000 complete. A 
canal nearly thirty miles long controls the waters of the 
lakes, and with them flushes the sewers of the city, while 
a drainage tunnel 6.2 miles long and from 13.7 to 14.06 
feet in cross-section has been bored through the moun- 
tains north of Lake Zumpango. This work ranks among 
the greatest achievements of modern times. j 

MEXICAN FLORA AND FAUNA 6 

The flora of Mexico is unrivaled. It has been remarked 
that the most striking characteristic of the Mexican 
flowers, to which branch of the flora this sketch is limited, 
is their deep, rich color. The prevailing color of the 
flowers is always glowing and intense. There can be 
no more pleasing or extensive field for the botanist than 
the tropical forests of Mexico, in whose deep shades 
bloom the most exquisitely tinted flowers and orchids. In 
the vicinity of Orizaba, a locality almost incomparable 
as regards the great variety of flowers, orchid collectors 
may find a paradise. 

In the valley of Mexico there is no day in the year that 
finds the markets wanting in a superabundance of beauti- 
ful roses and flowers to delight the eye and regale the 
senses, and the marvelous size the calla lilies, heliotropes, 
camelias and poppies attain arrests wondering attention. 



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FACTS ABOUT MEXICO 289 

There are about fifty varieties of lilies blooming in varied 
garb in this valley. Each belt, the hot, the temperate and 
the cold, displays its own peculiar varieties of flowers, 
and in each has Nature spread her most gorgeous colors, 
her fairest tints, and her sweetest perfumes. 

The animal kingdom is almost as extensively repre- 
sented in the territory of Mexico as the botanical. On 
the plains of the north, over the frontier states, roamed 
bands of bison and antelope, and chamois, beaver, tiger- 
cat, tapir, and black, brown and cinnamon bear abound. 
Venomous serpents and insects lurk in the forests of the 
hot lands. The mountains and foot-hills present a verit- 
able paradise to the sportsman — deer, hare, rabbits, 
quail, wild pigeons, partridges, and an infinite variety of 
birds and ground game abounding. Horses, cattle, sheep 
and goats are found almost everywhere, and are the 
source of much wealth and industry. 

The birds are far-famed for their brilliant plumage 
and singing qualities. In the hot lands the birds are more 
distinguished for beauty of plumage than melody of voice, 
their coloring being as varied as that of the flowers, but 
in the colder belts splendid songsters fill the air with 
thrilling notes. 

Sperm and gray-back whales, seals, and sea lions 
abound in the western waters of Lower California and in 
the gulf of that name. The waters of both coasts as well 
as the rivers and mountain streams teem with a great 
variety of fish. Alligators infest the river mouths of both 
coasts. Turtles of all kinds are also found in abundance 
on the coasts. Tortoises exist in the waters of Yucatan 
and Lower California as well as on the coasts of Sinaloa. 
The shell is an important article of export. 

THE STATES OF MEXICO 

The Eepublic of Mexico comprises twenty-eight states, 
one territory and the Federal District in which the 
national capital is located. The state governments are 



290 FACTS ABOUT MEXICO 

very similar to those of the United States, having a 
governor, legislature, courts, etc. The following table 
is interesting: 

Area in 

Name of State Capital Sq. Miles 

Aguas Calientes Ag-uas Calientes 3,080 

Campeche Campeche 20,760 

Coahuila Saltillo 59,000 

Colima Colima 2,700 

Chiapas Tuxtla Guitierrez 29,600 

Chihuahua Chihuahua 89,200 

Durango Durango 42,300 

Guanajuato Guanajuato 12,300 

Guerrero Chilpancingo 22,700 

Hidalgo Pachuca 7,600 

Jalisco Guadalajara 38,400 

Mexico Toluca 8,080 

Michoacan Morelia 23,000 

Morelos Cuernavaca 1,850 

Nuevo Leon Monterey 25,000 

Oaxaca Oaxaca 28,400 

Puebla Puebla 12,600 

Queretaro Queretaro 3,800 

San Luis Potosi San Luis Potosi 26,100 

Sinaloa Culiacan 36,100 

Sonora Hermosillo 77,000 

Tabasco San Juan Bautista 10,000 

Tamaulipas Victoria 29,000 

Tlaxcala Tlaxcala 1,500 

Vera Cruz Jalapa 23,840 

Yucatan Merida 28,400 

Zacatecas Zacatecas 25,300 

Territory of Tepic Tepic 530 

Lower California La Paz 60,000 

Federal District City of Mexico 450 



Total 748,590 



FACTS ABOUT MEXICO 291 

The largest state is Chihuahua, since Coahuila was 
shorn of that portion of the domain now called Texas. 
Tlaxcala is the smallest state. After the Federal Dis- 
trict, Puebla is the wealthiest in assessed values, with 
Guanajuato a close second. The wealth of the former is, 
for the most part, in the silver mines; of the latter, in 
agricultural lands and onyx quarries. Campeche repre- 
sents the smallest amount of wealth. The Federal Dis- 
trict is to Mexico what the District of Columbia is to the 
United States, with laws administered under the direction 
of the Federal government. 

MINERAL EESOUECES 

** Mining is the most productive industry. Mines of 
some description are to be found in 26 of the 31 states 
and territories. There is also considerable production 
of coal, copper, and iron. 

" The mineral resources of Mexico also include 
petroleum, asphalt, platinum, graphite, sodium, and 
marble. 

' ' The most celebrated iron deposit is that of the Cerro 
del Mercado, in the outskirts of the city of Durango — 
a mountain 640 feet in height, 1,100 in breadth, and 4,800 
in length, reputed to be almost a solid mass of iron. ' ' — 
Encyclopaedia Britannica. 

MUSIC 

'* The Mexican people are very fond of music," says 
Mr. Alfred R. Conkling, formerly United States geologist, 
in his useful guide to Mexico. '^ There are excellent 
military bands in all the cities and garrisoned towns, 
where a pagoda is generally erected in. the main plaza. 
They usually play three evenings in the week, when the 
' swell ' population turns out to enjoy the music. Trav- 
elers will find pianos all over the country, even in towns 
500 miles distant from a seaport or railway terminus. 
Violins and guitars are also used, the latter being com- 



292 FACTS ABOUT MEXICO 

mon among the Indians and mestizos. Wandering street 
musicians are rare. 

*' There is not much original Mexican music; the 
national hymn, consisting of ten verses, being the best 
known. It was written by Baconegra, and set to music 
by Nuno." 

MEXICAN NATIONAL HYMN 

The following is a metrical translation of the first two 
verses and chorus of the national hymn of Mexico, 
arranged for Mr. Conkling by a friend to whom he gives 
due credit for the excellent version: 

Oh, may the olive-branch of peace, 

Dear Fatherland, wave over thee; 

For writ in heaven, by God's own hand, 

Is thine eternal destiny. 

And if the foe, with foot profane. 

Invade thy soil, sacred land ! 

Each son of thine, a soldier born. 

The fierce invasions shall withstand. 

CHORUS 

Mexicans, haste to fight and bleed ! 
Make ready sword and bridled steed ; 
Let the earth tremble to its core, 
Exulting in the cannon's roar. 

SECOND VERSE 

Behold them plunged in bloody strife ; 
The love which animates each heart 
Impels them on to give their life. 
And e 'er count death the better part. 
The former exploits of thy sons, 
Fatherland, remember now. 
And once again immortal crowns 
Of laurel shall adorn thy brow. 



J 



FACTS ABOUT MEXICO 293 

EXPORTS AND IMPORTS 

The chief exports of Mexico are precious metals, coffee, 
tobacco, hemp, sisal, sugar, dyewoods and cabinet woods, 
cattle and hides and skins. In 1912 the total exports 
amounted to $149,007,000; total imports for the same 
year were $71,330,000. 

The trade of Mexico is chiefly with the United States, 
Great Britain, France, Germany and Spain. In 1913, 
the imports from the United States were $54,571,584; 
exports to $77,543,842. 

MIXED BLOOD IN MEXICO 

As the Spanish conquerors brought few women, there 
was much mixture of races. Among the pure whites — 
who were practically all of Spanish extraction — there 
were two well-defined classes, the Gachupines or chape- 
tones, Spaniards born in Europe, said to be so named 
in allusion to their spurs, from Aztec words meaning 
** prickers with the foot," and the native-born or Creoles ; 
the former, though a small majority, had almost all the 
higher positions both in the public services and in com- 
merce. Besides these there were five well-defined castas : 
mestizoes (Indian and white) ; mulattoes (negro and 
white) ; Zambos (negro and Indian), who were regarded 
as specially vicious and dangerous; native Indians and 
negroes. But there were about a dozen intermediate 
** named varieties," of which the saltoatras (tending 
away from white) and tente en I'aire (tending towards 
white) may be mentioned; and many of the last named 
eventually passed into the Creole class, sometimes by the 
decree of a court. The fact that the trade route to 
Manila passed through Vera Cruz, Mexico City, and 
Acapulco entailed the settlement also of a few Chinese 
and Malays, chiefly on the Pacific coast. — Encyclopaedia 
Britannica. 



294 FACTS ABOUT MEXICO 

'* AMPARO " 

This word means literally " protection," and in 
Mexico recourse may be had to the writ so called when- 
ever any constitutional guaranty or natural right is vio- 
lated by established authority. Should any citizen 
consider himself restrained of his liberty or deprived of 
his property, or denied any other right recognized under 
the constitution, without due process of law, he may go 
into the federal courts for amparo, setting forth his 
specific grievance, and asking amparo from the authority 
to whose action the restraint, deprivation or denial is 
due. 

This writ is the magna charta of the Mexicans, and is 
pointed to by them as their most precious constitutional 
right. The legal proceedings in cases of this character 
partake largely of what are known under the United 
States laws as quo warranto, habeas corpus, mandamus, 
and prohibition proceedings. The effect of the granting 
of the writ is to nullify the act complained of. 

MANY BIEDS AND INSECTS 

Senor Don Antonio Garcia Cubas mentions fifty-two 
varieties of mammal quadrupeds as existing in the Repub- 
lic, and two hundred and three varieties of fowls, includ- 
ing domestic fowls, as well as over fifty kinds of humming 
birds, differing in color and form, and forming a 
chromatic scale of brilliant tints running from sea green 
through bluish green to emerald green, and from the 
lightest straw color to the deepest scarlet and fiery red. 
Of reptiles the authority cited enumerates forty-three 
classes, and of batrachians thirteen species. 

Among insects those claiming attention are the coch- 
ineal (coccus cacti) and the honey bee, because of the 
excellent materials they produce beneficial to industry 
and to commerce. The former insect is cultivated in 
Oaxaca, living on the prickly-pear cactus, and producing 



FACTS ABOUT MEXICO 295 

a red liquid dye. Winterbotliain, one of the eighteentli 
century's historians, in his '' History of America," 
relates that the trade in cochineal by the city of Oaxaca 
alone in the year 1796 amounted to 200,000 crowns in 
value. 

The bee is to be found all over Mexico, busily produc- 
ing prodigious quantities of honey and wax. 

The country offers a vast and rich field to the naturalist 
and entomologist for the study of the innumerable species 
of coleopterous insects. 

THE PARIS OF AMERICA 

The City of Mexico has been aptly termed the Paris of 
America. Although situated in the heart of the country, 
it is no less cosmopolitan in character than are New 
York and San Francisco, containing, as it does, a large 
percentage of foreigners, and of citizens who have 
resided and traveled in foreign countries. 

The capital has been subject to remarkable changes, as 
well of a physical as of a social and political character. 
Once it was the Venice of the continent, enthroned amid 
the lake and surrounded with a sheltering circle of forest- 
crowned heights and green meadows, among which were 
tributary settlements, bright with garden foliage. Canals 
intersected the city in every direction, filled with swiftly 
gliding canoes and stately barges, and on gala days the 
expanse was crowded with spectators, intent on witness- 
ing the imposing ceremonies at the temple of the war- 
god. Now unsightly marshes fringe the ever-narrowing 
surface of the lake, while the forests have been wantonly 
destroyed, and ancient structures razed to the ground by 
the early conquerors, or defaced by the ravages of civil 
war. 

FEAST DAYS AND HOLIDAYS 

Among the Mexicans there are many feast-days and 
religious holidays — so many as to interfere somewhat 



296 FACTS ABOUT MEXICO 

with the affairs of this busy and untiring world; but 
their span of life is not shortened or made unpleasant 
by these brief interludes from toil. On such occasions 
nearly all places of business, except those of the grocer, 
the barber, and the dram-seller, are closed; though 
venders of fruit, sweetmeats, and trinkets follow their 
calling until dusk or far into the night. Yet the people 
seem none the worse for their recreation, ever ready as 
they are to accept excuse from labor, and it is doubtful 
whether they would be better engaged were there no such 
celebrations. 

On certain feast-days, troops of girls arrayed in white 
may be seen upon the streets at daybreak, singing in 
chorus as they wend their way toward the church. The 
orthodox dress of an aldeana on such occasions is some- 
what elaborate — a white muslin garment trimmed with 
lace, satin vest, open in front; a long colored sash and 
rebozo, and as many gold and silver ornaments as the 
wearer can afford to purchase. 

In their mode of life the wealthy Mexicans have 
adopted European customs. The desayuno, or first break- 
fast, consists simply of coffee or chocolate, taken soon 
after rising. After two or three hours comes the break- 
fast proper, served between nine and twelve, and consist- 
ing of a great variety of dishes. The dinner hour, depend- 
ing on professional or other duties, is between four and 
six, followed by supper at eight, after which come choco- 
late and cigars. 

While the rich eat more than is good for them, the 
poor are underfed, their diet consisting principally of 
fruit, tortillas, and frijoles, though with a piece of meat, 
and a few vegetables, they can set forth half a dozen 
dishes of excellent quality. 

THE COESTEK GKOCEEY 

As in the United States, the corner grocery is a promi- 
nent institution in Mexico. Native adulterated wines. 



FACTS ABOUT MEXICO 297 

aguardiente, or fire-water, bread, sugar, rice, beans, chile, 
and divers mixtures, preserved in tin or glass, are dealt 
out by greasy and unkempt shopkeepers, who insist on 
having the money in one hand before they dispense their 
wares with the other. Hardly less common are the 
pulquerias, where only pulque is sold. To many this 
liquor is meat, drink, and all earthly consolation, more 
money being expended for it than for food, clothing and 
the necessaries of life. 

TORTILLAS AND PULQUE 

Tortillas and pulque are staple articles of consump- 
tion, in the manufacture of which hundreds of thousands 
of persons are employed, the former being to the poor 
their daily bread and often meat as well. In the out- 
skirts of the cities are places where a dozen women work 
under a female overseer, who owns the business. Their 
chief utensils, the petate, or reed mat, the metate, or stone 
for crushing the softened corn, and the comalli, or pan, 
are indispensable articles in every Mexican household. 
Then there is the enchiladera, who sits at the door of the 
pulqueria, and offers hot turnover tortillas, containing 
meat and chile, or sometimes cheese and onions, which are 
bought at the rate of two for a cent, and sold at two for 
a tlaco. The breakfast of mechanics consists of beans and 
pulque, and for supper their usual fare is beans and 
pulque. 

HOW PULQUE IS PREPARED 

Pulque, as already stated, is the fermented juice of the 
Agave Americana, of which there are several varieties 
in Mexico, and east of the capital, near Guadalajara and 
elsewhere, are vast plantations which yield a large and 
steady income. As the plant is about to put forth its 
high, flowering stalk, the core is cut out, leaving a recep- 
tacle that will contain from three to four gallons, and 
into which flows the sap which should support the stalk. 



298 FACTS ABOUT MEXICO 

Twice a day tliis is withdrawn by means of a long gourd, 
which is emptied into a sack made of pigskin, and carried 
on the back. 

After fermentation, the fluid has the consistence and 
somewhat the appearance of milk, but with a perceptible 
odor, and in this form it is taken to the pulque shops to 
be sold and drunk. At first it has been said to taste like 
a combination of soap-suds, bilge-water, and turpentine; 
but a liking for it is soon acquired, and it is even said to 
be beneficial if taken in moderation, though with this, as 
with all other intoxicating drinks, the greater the modera- 
tion, the greater the benefit. 

While passing a pulque field travelers frequently stop 
to drink of the agua miel, or unfermented juice of the 
agave, which is cool and transparent as water, and with 
a sweet acid taste. 

AN AZTEC TYPE 

A fair type of the original Aztecs may be found among 
the boatmen and women who ply their trade on the Chalco 
Canal, bringing into Mexico City flowers and vegetables 
from the remains of the floating gardens. The boats are 
of two kinds, one resembling a canoe and usually man- 
aged by a woman, the other flat-bottomed, six or eight 
feet wide, thirty or forty feet long, and capable of carry- 
ing the produce belonging to two or three families. Many 
of the latter have a cabin in the middle, which forms the 
home of the occupants, where they work, eat, and sleep. 

CHOLULA AND ITS VICINITY 

Among the finest views of Mexico is the one obtained 
from the summit of the hill of Cholula, where the visitor 
stands amid drooping pines, stunted rose-bushes, and 
porcelain-plated graves, beside the dilapidated wall of the 
church. It is a rugged, uneven elevation, rising some two 
hundred feet above the plain, and is partly the work of 
nature and partly of man. The winding roadway, paved 
with smooth stones and containing broad flights of steps, 



FACTS ABOUT MEXICO 299 

is bordered with thrifty grasses, and the thick shrubbery 
that covers the hillside is freely interspersed with cactus 
and the pepper-tree. In front is Popocatepetl, and the 
next to it the scarcely less imposing peak of Iztaccihuatl, 
the White Woman, She of the Recumbent Figure ; while 
in the opposite direction, over the glittering domes of 
distant Puebla, stands forth Orizaba, white-crested and 
winged with fleecy clouds. 

Below is the city of Cholula, with its long lines of inter- 
secting canals, as when Cortez first saw them, marking 
the divisions of cornfields and gardens, lined with planta- 
tions of maguey. A single glance, says Bancroft, tells 
the story of its inhabitants — how the poor, in their 
small, uncomfortable houses, pinch themselves to main- 
tain the costly service of the great temples, and to add 
to their splendor. The inhabitants of all this rich and 
fertile valley, given up as a prey to contending armies 
since the advent of the Spaniards, are now for the first 
time learning the arts of peace, and are yet greatly 
devoted to religious rites, as was the case in the remote 
epoch of the Toltec dynasty, when pilgrims flocked from 
afar to the shrine of the Feathered Serpent. 

Within sight of the hill of Cholula are about forty 
villages, marked by the tall, white towers of thrice as 
many churches, some standing solitary in the open plain, 
some sheltered by trees and shrubbery, and others being 
mere hamlets, with a score of dingy and half-deserted 
houses, clustering around a dingy and dilapidated church. 

A CITY OF CHUECHES 

Puebla has been called the city of churches, with its 
sixty or seventy high-domed and broad-spreading tem- 
ples, about one for every thousand of the half -naked and 
barefooted natives, who are called upon to support them 
and their three hundred priests. The state prison is in 
part a church; the house of maternity is a church; the 
state college was once a convent, forming part of a church 



300 FACTS ABOUT MEXICO 

edifice; and the cathedral, though smaller than that of 
Mexico City, is even richer in interior decorations. 

But in proportion to population, the squalid though 
famous little town of Cholula outranks even Puebla in this 
respect. There is the small church, with its two towers, 
and their huge bells, on the historic hill, rusty without, 
but elaborately gilded within; there is the large church 
amid the houses below, near to which the worshippers 
congregate for the bull-fight after divine service; there 
is also one to the right of it, and one to the left, with 
others surrounding them on every side, the simultaneous 
clangor of their bells during the red glow of sunset giving 
to the visitor the impression that the entire place is on 
fire and that the alarm is being sounded. 

On the site where these churches are built, there once 
stood no less than four hundred heathen temples ; but of 
all the architectural monuments which in former days 
crowned the pyramid of Cholula, or clustered around the 
base, not one has been preserved. The records which 
have been handed down to us are, however, more distinct 
even than those which have been sculptured on Egyptian 
marble or Assyrian frieze. One may still picture to one's 
self the ancient Aztec processions with their dismal chant 
and clang of instruments, wending their way through the 
long, white streets toward the sacrifice; one may see in 
fancy the bodies of victims hurled over the precipice, as 
the blood-besmeared priest holds aloft the still quivering 
heart, and may imagine the beneficent deity, Quetzalcoatl, 
here taking leave of his people, promising to return ere 
long with new and celestial blessings. 

CITIES AND THEIE CHARACTEB 

In most of the cities of Mexico the Asiatic style of 
architecure is observable, though the Moorish is perhaps 
the most common. The houses, with their solid walls, 
are usually of one story, low and with flat tiled roofs, the 
better class of dwellings enclosing a spacious court with 



FACTS ABOUT MEXICO 301 

a wide entrance, closed at night witli double doors, and 
having iron-barred windows or openings looking into 
the street and court-yard. The palaces, as they are 
termed, and the more pretentious residences, are usually 
of two stories, with colonnades of masonry, wooden raft- 
ers, and bare floors, usually of tiles. Outside are narrow 
stone sidewalks, frequently worn hollow by centuries of 
use. Everywhere the exterior is plain, and sometimes 
even forbidding; but in the chief cities there are abodes 
which are fitted up with oriental luxury and splendor. 

A common dwelling in the tierra caliente is a one-story 
hut, built of canes resting on the ground and supporting 
a roof, thatched with palm leaves if near the sea-shore, 
or covered with a long, coarse grass if near the hills. On 
the table-lands adobes are commonly used for the walls, 
or adobes mixed with stone. 

THE HOME OF THE PEON" 

The interior of these humble abodes corresponds to the 
bareness without. Entering one of them we find a single 
room from twelve to fifteen feet square, with a hole in 
the roof, which serves as chimney, a door to admit the 
occupants, the air, and the light, a hole in that door for 
window, unplastered walls, a flooring of earth, and a 
ceiling of tiles. For furniture there are a few seats made 
of canes bound together with rawhide, and covered with 
untanned calfskin; there is seldom a table, and never a 
bedstead. In a corner of the hut is the bedding, which 
is rolled up until nightfall, and consists of matting or 
dried skins ; while for covering the man has his zarape, 
and the woman her rebozo, the threshold of the door doing 
duty for pillow. A few shelves contain the family crock- 
ery and cooking utensils, and earthen bowls and pots 
surround the hearthstone, on which at meal-times a small 
fire of sticks or charcoal is kindled to bake the tortillas 
and cook the frijoles, and then carefully extinguished, 
for fuel is expensive, and wages of eight or ten dollars 



302 FACTS ABOUT MEXICO 

a month do not admit of luxuries. In this dwelling live 
man and wife, with probably several children, a few fowls, 
a pig or two, and perhaps a small collection of canine 
favorites. Such is the home of the Mexican peon, of 
which class the people are mainly composed, and on whose 
descendants will largely depend the destiny of the nation. 

PEESONS OF MIXED BLOOD 

In Mexico, the offspring of a European and an Indian 
is termed a mestizo; of a European and an African, a 
mulatto; of an Indian and an African, a zamho or chino. 
A mestizo union with a European, Indian or African pro- 
duces respectively a castizo or trigueno, a mestizo -claro, 
and a mulatto-ohscuro ; from a corresponding mulatto 
union spring a morisco or terceron, a chino-obscuro and 
a zamho-negro ; and from a similar intermarriage with a 
zambo come a diino-hlancho , a chino -cliolo , and a samho- 
chino. These are the terms most frequently used, though 
varying in different parts of the Eepublic. 

PEOTESTAFTS IN" MEXICO 

In the year 1871 the Protestant Episcopal Church 
sent one of its representatives to Mexico, in the person of 
H. C. Riley, by whom the work of Protestant missions 
was initiated. Soon afterward came Baptist, Congrega- 
tionalist, Presbyterian, and Methodist missionaries, of 
whom the last have probably been the most successful; 
for to this sect, a few years ago, the field was virtually 
conceded. In the capital a portion of an old conventual 
building was granted to them, and notwithstanding the 
opposition of the Catholics, they met with a friendly 
reception from the government. Churches and chapels 
were constructed ; congregations gradually collected, and 
in 1883 there were more than two hundred Protestant 
ministers in the country, the majority of whom were 
Mexicans by birth. It cannot be said, however, that as 
yet the Protestants have made much progress in the work 



FACTS ABOUT MEXICO 303 

of evangelization, although no special obstacles have been 
encountered; for in Mexico all religions are tolerated, 
while none are officially recognized. 

TEANSPOKTATIOlsr 

The unsettled political conditions of Mexico from 1821 
to 1877, and the lack of transportation facilities, pre- 
vented development of the country's rich resources. At 
the accession of President Diaz to power in 1877, Mexico 
had but one railroad. Since that year the building of 
railroads has been the greatest feature of Mexican devel- 
opment, and the federal government has aided the work 
by large subsidies. Nearly all the larger cities now are 
connected with each other by rail. Rich mining regions 
and agricultural districts have secured outlets for their 
wealth, and trade has been developing rapidly. Outside 
capital has done this for Mexico. Railroad building and 
mining have been mainly in the hands of American and 
English investors, while retail trade of the cities has 
been largely absorbed by German merchants. 

EAILEOAD TKAVEL 

When conditions are normal, travel in Mexico is 
attended by all the comforts and very many of the luxur- 
ies that are found on the railway and steamer lines of the 
United States, where the science of travel has well nigh 
been perfected. Passenger trains are composed of coaches 
of American manufacture and are for passengers of the 
first, second and third classes, with all the accommoda- 
tions found in modern cars. Pullman sleeping cars are 
attached to the through express trains of the trunk lines 
between the United States and Mexico, and on side lines 
and branch roads of importance. 

The dining-car and buffet service is yet in its infancy, 
but the wayside restaurant is as a rule good and up to 
the average. 

Railway tickets are regulated by a code of rules, sim- 



304 FACTS ABOUT MEXICO 

ilar to those in effect in the United States. They are 
first, second and third class, at prices in accordance with 
accommodations furnished. 

COINS AND PAPEB MONEY 

The money of Mexico is the same as that of the United 
States — i. e., dollars and cents — called in Spanish 
pesos y centavos; that is the legal way of counting it, as 
enacted by a law taking effect in 1890, but the people still 
use the old system to some extent, though they under- 
stand both. A tlaco is a cent and a half, a cuartilla is 
three cents; these are of copper and now almost out of 
circulation. The old silver coins were the medio, 614 
cents; real, 12^/2 cents, also called in; the quarter and 
half dollars are rarely so called, they are dos reales (pro- 
nounced do re-al-es), and cuatro reales; and seventy-five 
cents is seis reales. Regardless of the law to the con- 
trary, prices are quoted in reales, up to one dollar, then 
in most cases it is pesos y reales, thus : a dollar and a half 
is un peso y cuatro reales, one dollar and four reales. 

The fifty-cent piece is sometimes called a toston, and 
25 cents a peseta, though rarely. The Mexicans make 
change to a nicety, says Reau Campbell, and are credited 
with splitting tlacos, literally, and with a hatchet. 

Gold is little used — but under the recent laws the $5, 
$10 and $20 coins are coming into circulation. The legal 
value of the Mexican peso is 50 cents gold. 

The paper money in circulation is in notes of the 
National Bank of Mexico, the state banks and the Bank 
of London, Mexico and South America, all passing at par, 
except in rare cases notes of some of the state banks 
beyond the limits of the state where issued are taken at 
a slight discount. 

Silver is to be depended upon at all times, but it is too 
bulky and heavy to carry in large amounts. The native 
possessed of a sufficiency carries it in a handbag attached 
to a strap over the shoulder. 



FACTS ABOUT MEXICO 305 

POLICE AND BUEALES 

The police are not as hard to find in Mexico as in some 
other countries, and there are soldiers everywhere, not as 
a menace in ordinary times, but as a protection. 

There has never been but one ' * hold up " of a passen- 
ger train in Mexico, and that by American border ruffians. 
Train robbers are ordered to be shot on the spot of the 
hold up, and orders are obeyed in Mexico. The police of 
the cities are a well-trained, disciplined body of men, and 
always within call. In the City of Mexico and in the 
larger cities a policeman stands at street intersections at 
night; his lantern is placed in the middle of the street, 
and the long row of flickering lights up and down, in 
either direction, tells of the watchmen of the night. Your 
Mexican policeman never lets the wrong man go ; he lets 
no guilty man escape ; in case of altercation, dispute or 
difficulty he arrests all hands. No matter what occurs, 
when you are asked to accompany a policeman to the 
'^ comiseria '^ it is the part of discretion to accede to his 
request — no harm can come to the innocent and the mat- 
ter is quickly settled by the officer in charge. The police- 
man is a soldier as well, and almost without exception is 
courteous and obliging and will go out of his beat to show 
the way or find a place for a stranger. 

The rurales, as already stated, are the country police, 
mounted on the finest horses, and uniformed in the most 
picturesque manner, with saddles and trappings richly 
decorated. The men are fine specimens of humanity, 
stout and well built, wearing the broad sombrero of the 
country, a short leather jacket and trousers braided and 
bedecked, all with silver braid and gold. They are armed 
to the teeth with the latest improved arms, and well they 
know how to use them, for they were born to their use 
as their fathers before them. The first corps of the 
rurales was recruited from the bandits of the country in 
the seventies. Among other reforms instituted by Presi- 



306 FACTS ABOUT MEXICO 

dent Diaz this was one of the most important. He found 
tribes of bandits scattered all over the country whose 
fathers before them had been bandits — they were a body 
of men who knew every nook and corner of the country 
and could not easily be put down. General Diaz offered 
amnesty and to organize them into a corps of the army, 
with regular pay, higher than any other cavalrymen in 
any of the armies of the world. The bandit accepted the 
amnesty and became a rurale. 

The military education and army regulations are very 
similar to those of the United States ; the West Point of 
Mexico is at Chapultepec ; the officers ' grades are almost 
identical with those of the United States. 

The jefe politico is the chief political officer of a district 
comprising several towns or villages; under him is the 
alcalde, who is the mayor in the smaller towns. The 
police have no discretion in case of a quarrel or fight on 
the street or elsewhere ; all participants are arrested and 
hurried off to the comiseria; every man is presumed 
guilty until he proves his innocence. 

AMEKICAN" CAPITAL, IN MEXICO 

According to a report made by U. S. Consul Letcher at 
Chihuahua to the state department in 1913, the amount 
of money invested in Mexico by Americans is more than 
$1,000,000,000, classified as follows: 

Eailway bonds $408,926,000 

Eailway stocks 235,464,000 

Mines 223,000,000 

National bonds 52,000,000 

Smelters 26,500,000 

Bank deposits 22,700,000 

The oil industry 15,000,000 

The rubber industry 15,000,000 

Factories 10,800,000 

Live stock 9,000,000 



FACTS ABOUT MEXICO 307, 

Timber lands 8,100,000 

Bank stocks 7,850,000 

House & personal property 4,500,000 

Insurance 4,000,000 

Ranches 3,150,000 

Wholesale stores 2,700,000 

Retail stores 1,680,000 

Professional outfits 3,600,000 

Public institutions 1,200,000 

Tramways & power plants . 760,000 

Farms 960,000 

Hotels 260,000 

Breweries 600,000 

Small additions of a miscellaneous character bring the 
total up to $1,057,770,000. American investments very 
largely exceed those of any other foreign country. 



CHAPTER XXVI 
CHRONOLOGY OF MEXICAN HISTORY 

A. D. 648 — Toltecs arrived in Anahuac. 
1051 — Toltecs abandoned the country. 
1170 — Cliicimecs arrived in Mexico. 
1196 — Aztecs (Mexicans) reached Tula. 
1200 — Alcouans arrived. 
1325 — Mexicans founded Tenochtitlan or the City of 

Mexico. 
1428 — Foundation of the Aztec kingdom. 
1431 — Enthronement of Netzahualcoyotl, King of 

Texcoco. 
1485 — Cortez born at Medellin, Spain. 
1502 — Montezuma II. enthroned. 
1504 — Cortez left Spain for Cuba. 
1510 — Great tidal wave on Lake Texcoco overflowed 

Tenochtitlan. 
1511 — Turrets of the great Aztec temple burned. 

Spanish ship wrecked on the Island of 
Cozumel. 
1516 — Death of Nezahualpilli, the Tezcucan King. 
1517 — March 4, discovery of Yucatan by Cordoba. 
1518 — May 1, departure of Grijalva from Cuba for 
Mexico. 
November 18, Cortez sailed from Santiago. 
1519 — February 10, Cortez sailed from Habana. 

March 20, Cortez landed at the mouth of the 

Tabasco Eiver. 
April 21, Cortez landed at Vera Cruz. 
308 



CHRONOLOaY OF MEXICAN HISTOEY 309 

August 16, commenced the march to the City 

of Mexico. 
September 23, Cortez entered Tlaxcala. 
November 8, Cortez entered the City of 
Mexico. 
1520 — June 30, death of Montezuma. 

July 1, Cortez driven out of City of Mexico, 

Noche Triste, the *' Dismal Night." 
July 8, battle with the Mexicans at Otumba. 
1521 — August 13, re-entry of Cortez into the City of 
Mexico. 
Establishment by Spain of the rule over the 

new province by a governor. 
Cortez established the seat of government at 

Coyoacan. 
Establishment of the first Christian church in 
the New World at Tlaxcala. 
1524 — First church commenced on the site of the 

present Cathedral. 
1525 — Hanging of Tetlepanquetzaltzin by Cortez. 
1526 — September 19, Bishopric of Puebla estab- 
lished, seat at Puebla. 
1528 — Establishment of the government under the 

Audencia. 
1529 — July 6, Cortez made Marques del Valle de 

Oaxaca. 
1530 — Guadalajara founded. 

1531 — December 9, vision of the Virgin of Guad- 
alupe to Juan Diego. 
December 12, Juan Diego gathered the flowers 
from where the Virgin stood. The feast of 
Guadalupe. 
July 25, Queretaro became a Christian city. 
1533— Toluca founded. 
1535 — The first Viceroy arrived in Mexico. 

June 2, Bishopric of Oaxaca established, seat 
at Oaxaca. 



310 CHRONOLOGY OF MEXICAN HISTORY 

First printing press brought to tlie country 

and first book printed in Mexico. 
1536 — August 29, cornerstone of the Cathedral at 

Puebla laid. 
1539 — March 19, Bishopric of Chiapas established, 

seat at San Cristobal. 
1541 — May 18, Valladolid, now Morelia, founded. 
1542 — San Miguel founded. 

1545 — January 31, Archbishopric of Mexico estab- 
lished, seat at City of Mexico. 
1546 — September 8, discovery of silver at Zacatecas. 
1547 — December 2, Cortez died in the town of 

Castelleja de la Questa, in Spain. 
1548 — January 20, Zacatecas founded. 

July 31, Bishopric of Guadalajara established, 

seat at Guadalajara. 
1552 — First inundation of the City of Mexico, and 

the dyke of San Lazaro built. 
1553 — Silao founded. 
1557 — Guanajuato founded. 

The Patio process for the amalgamation of 

silver invented by Bartolome de Medina at 

Pachuca. 
1562 — August 15, Bishopric of Yucatan established, 

seat at Merida. 
1568 — English driven off the island of Los Sacra- 

ficios near Vera Cruz. 
1570 — August 16, the Inquisition established in 

Mexico. 
Celaya founded. 
1573 — Cornerstone of the Cathedral laid in City of 

Mexico. 
1574 — Twenty-one Lutherans burned by order of the 

Inquisition. 
1576 — Leon founded. 
1583 — San Luis Potosi founded. 
1586 — An English ship captured near Acapulco. 



CHRONOLOGY OF MEXICAN HISTORY 311 

1587 — Sir Francis Drake captured a Spanish ship 
with a rich cargo, off California. 

1596 — Monterey founded. 

1600— The City of Monterey founded. 

1603 — Building of the Aqueduct of Chapultepec 
commenced. 

1604 — Church on the Pyramid of Cholula dedicated. 

1607 — November 28, the great drainage canal, Tajo 
de Nochistongo, commenced. 

1615 — Foundation and walls of the Cathedral com- 
pleted. 

1618 — Cordoba founded. 

1620 — September 28, Bishopric of Durango estab- 
lished, seat at Durango. 

1623 — Cathedral placed under roof. 

1626 — First service in the Cathedral. 

1629 — Great inundation of the City of Mexico. 

1634 — Subsiding of the waters of the inundation of 
the Plain of Mexico. 

1643 — Salvatierra founded. 

1649 — April 10, fifteen persons burned by order of 
the Inquisition. 
April 18, Cathedral at Puebla consecrated. 

1660 — ^A colony of a hundred families settled in New 
Mexico. 

1667 — December 22, dedication of the Cathedral. 

1678— May 2, Church of Santa Maria los Angeles at 
Churubusco completed. 

1691 — Conquest of Texas. 

1692 — Building of the National Palace commenced. 

1709 — May 1, completion of the Church of Guada- 
lupe near City of Mexico. 

1722 — January 19, opening of the first theater in 
Mexico. 
The first newspaper, Gaceta de Mexico, pub- 
lished in Mexico. 



312 CHRONOLOGY OF MEXICAN HISTORY 

1724 — February 4, completion of the Palacio del 

Ayuntamiento or City Hall. 
1760 — The first regular army organized in Mexico. 

Houses numbered in the City of Mexico. 
1767 — Jesuits expelled from Mexico by Royal Order, 

dated January 15. 
1770 — A fleet sailed for Spain with a cargo of thirty 

millions of silver dollars. 
1776 — February 25, establishment of the Monte de 

Piedad or national pawn shop. 
1777 — December 25, Bishopric of Linares estab- 
lished, seat at Monterey. 
1779 — May 7, Bishopric of Sonora established, seat 

at Culiacan. 
1783— September 27, Iturbide born. 
1789 — Arrival of the famous Viceroy, Conde de 

Revillagigedo. He appointed a police force 

in the City of Mexico, lighted and paved 

the streets. 
1791 — Completion of the towers of the Cathedral. 
1795 — Cession of Florida, west of the Perdido River, 

to France. 
1802 — August 4, casting of the bronze statue of 

Charles IV., at 6 a. m. 
1803 — December 9, statue of Charles IV. unveiled in 

the Plaza Mayor. 
Humboldt traveled in Mexico. 
1810 — September 16, Hidalgo sounded the Grito of 

Mexican Independence. 
October 30, battle of Las Cruces. 
1811 — January 16, Hidalgo defeated at the Bridge 

of Calderon. 
May 21, Hidalgo captured at Acatita de 

Bajan. 
June 26, Allende, Aldama and Jiminez exe- 
cuted. 
July 31, Hidalgo executed at Chihuahua. 



CHRONOLOGY OF MEXICAN HISTOEY 313 

1812 — Evacuation of Cuautla by Morelos. 
1813— September 14, meeting of the first Mexican 
Congress at Chilpancingo. 
November 6, first formal Declaration of Mex- 
ican Independence. 
December 23, defeat of Morelos. 
1814 — February 3, execution of Matamoras at 
Morelia. 
October 22, proclamation of the first Consti- 
tution at Apatzingan. 
1815 — December 22, Morelos executed by order of 

the Inquisition. 
1820 — May 31, suppression of the Inquisition in 

Mexico. 
1821 — Promulgation of the Plan of Iguala and the 
colors of the Mexican flag. 
August 2, Puebla taken by Iturbide. 
September 27, Iturbide entered the City of 
Mexico. 
1822 — February 24, first Congress of the Mexican 
Nation assembled. 
May 19, Iturbide elected emperor. 
Iturbide and his wife anointed and crowned 

in the Cathedral of Mexico. 
December 6, a Republic proclaimed by Santa 
Anna at Vera Cruz. 
1823— July 14, Iturbide shot at Padilla. 
1824 — October 4, Constitution proclaimed. 

October 10, first President of Mexico inaugu- 
rated. 
November 7, Second Mexican Congress. 
Statue of Charles IV. taken down and re- 
moved from the Plaza Mayor to the patio 
of the University. 
1825 — January 1, First Constitutional Congress as- 
sembled. 



314 CHRONOLOGY OF MEXICAN HISTORY 

During this year the last Spanish soldier left 
Mexico in the evacuation of the Island of 
San Juan de Uliia. 
1829 — A Spanish force landed at Tampico in July. 
September 11, Spanish invaders defeated and 
captured by the forces under Generals 
Santa Anna and Mier. 
1830 — September 15, Porfirio Diaz born. 
1835 — Rebellion of Texas under Sam Houston. 
1836 — December 28, Spain formally recognized the 
Republic of Mexico. 
March 6, massacre of the Alamo, San Antonio, 

Texas. 
March 27, massacre at Goliad. 
April 22, battle of San Jacinto, Texas. Santa 
Anna captured. 
1837 — August 22, first concession granted for a rail- 
way between the City of Mexico and Vera 
Cruz. 
1840 — April 27, Bishopric of Lower California es- 
tablished, seat at La Paz. 
1844 — April 12, Texas admitted into the Union. 
1846 — April 24, first skirmish of the American War. 
May 8, battle of Palo Alto, and May 9, Resaca 

de la Palma. 
May 18, General Taylor crossed the Rio 

Grande at Matamoros. 
July 7, Monterey, Cal., captured. 
July 8, San Francisco, Cal., captured. 
September 20, Monterey captured. 
1847— February 23, battle of Buena Vista. 
February 28, Chihuahua occupied. 
March 9, General Scott landed at Vera Cruz. 
March 27, Vera Cruz captured. 
April 18, battle of Cerro Gordo. 
May 25, Puebla occupied by the Americans. 



CHRONOLOGY OF MEXICAN HISTOEY 315 

August 9, General Scott entered the Valley of 

Mexico. 
August 20, battles of Padierna and Churu- 

busco. 
September 8, battles of Casa Mata and Molino 

del Rey. 
September 12 and 13, storming and capture 

of Cbapultepec. 
September 13, capture of the Garita de Belem 

and San Cosme. 
September 15, entry of the Americans into 
the City of Mexico. 
1848 — February 2, conclusion of peace and signing 

of the Treaty of Guadalupe, Hidalgo. 
1850 — June 1, Bishopric of Vera Cruz established, 

seat at Jalapa. 
1851 — President Arista inaugurated. 
1852 — Statue of Charles IV. placed in its present 

position. 
1853 — Santa Anna proclaimed dictator of Mexico. 
1854— August 30, Bishopric of San Luis Potosi 

established, seat at San Luis Potosi. 
1855 — Comonfort elected President. 
1856 — June 25, decree ordering sale of church real 
estate by President Comonfort. 
September 16, suppression of the Franciscan 
monks. 
1859— July 12, proclamation of the Laws of the Re- 
form, by President Juarez. 
1861 — July 17, passage of the law suspending pay- 
ment on bonded debt of the Republic. 
October 31, adoption of the Treaty of London 

by England, France and Spain. 
Arrival of the allied fleet at Vera Cruz, in 
December, 1861, and January, 1862. 
1862— January 26, Bishopric of Queretaro estab- 
lished, seat at Queretaro. 



316 CHRONOLOGY OF MEXICAN HISTORY 

Bishopric of Leon established, seat at Leon. 

Bishopric of Zamora established, seat at 
Zamora. 

Bishopric of Zacatecas established, seat at 
Zacatecas. 

February 19, Treaty of La Soledad signed. 

May 5, brilliant battle at Puebla and repulse 
of the French by the Mexican General Zara- 
gosa. 
1863 — March 6, suppression of all religious orders 
in Mexico. 

March 16, Bishopric of Tulancingo estab- 
lished, seat at Tulancingo. 

Bishopric of Chilapa established, seat at 
Chilapa. 

Archbishopric of Michoacan established, seat 
at Morelia. 

Archbishopric of Guadalajara established, 
seat at Guadalajara. 

May 17, Puebla captured by the French. 

June 9, French troops occupied the City of 
Mexico. 

July 10, assembly of notables called in the 
City of Mexico, and the crown tendered to 
Maximilian, the Archduke of Austria. 
1864 — June 12, Maximilian crowned Emperor of 

Mexico. 
1865 — October 3, Maximilian published a decree de- 
claring all persons in arms against the Im- 
perial Government bandits, ordering them 
executed. 

October 21, Generals Felix Diaz, Arteaga, 
Salazar and Villagomez shot at Uruapam as 
bandits under Maximilian's decree. 

November 6, the United States, through Sec- 
retary Seward, sent a dispatch to Napoleon 
III., protesting against the presence of the 



i 



CHEONOLOGY OF MEXICAN HISTORY 317 

French army in Mexico as a grave reflection 
against the United States, and notifying 
him that nothing but a Republican would 
be recognized. 
1866 — April 5, Napoleon withdrew his support from 
Maximilian. 
November, Napoleon ordered the evacuation 
of Mexico by the French troops. 
1867 — The last of the French troops leave Mexico in 
February. 
April 2, capture of Puebla by General Porfirio 

Diaz. 
April 11, Diaz defeated Marquez at San Lo- 
renzo. 
May 15, capture of Queretaro, surrender of 

Maximilian to General Escobedo. 
June 19, execution of Maximilian, Mejia and 

Miramon. 
June 21, capture of the City of Mexico by Gen- 
eral Porfirio Diaz. 
July 15, Juarez entered the City of Mexico 
and re-established his government. 
1869 — September 16, completion of the Mexican Rail- 
way to Puebla. 
October 4, Bishopric of Tamaulipas estab- 
lished, seat at Victoria. 
1871 — December 1, Juarez re-elected President. 
1872 — July 18, death of President Juarez. 

December 1, election of President Lerdo. 
December 20, completion of the Mexican Rail- 
way in the meeting of the tracks above 
Maltrata. 
1873 — January 1, opening of the Mexican Railway 
between the City of Mexico and Vera Cruz. 
1874 — Incorporation in the Constitution of the Laws 
of the Reform. 



318 CHRONOLOGY OF MEXICAN HISTORY 

1875 — December 5, opening of the National Exhibi- 
tion of Mexican products, in the City of 
Mexico. 

1876 — January 15, commenced the revolution under 
the plan of Tuxtepec. 
November 24, General Porfirio Diaz entered 
the City of Mexico at the head of the revo- 
lutionary army and was proclaimed provi- 
sional president. 

1877 — May 6, General Diaz declared Constitutional 
President. 

1878 — Concession granted for the building of the 
Interoceanic Railway. 

1879 — June 24, execution of nine revolutionists 
against the Diaz government, at Vera Cruz. 

1880 — May 25, Bishopric of Tabasco established, 
seat at San Juan Bautista. 
September 25, election of General Manuel 

Gonzalez as President. 
Track laying on the Mexican Central com- 
menced. 
October 14, construction of Mexican National 
Railroad commenced. 

1882 — November 25, Sonora Railway opened. 

1883— The '' Nickel Riots " occurred. 

March 15, Bishopric of Colima established, 
seat at Colima. 

1884 — March 8, completion of the tracks, and on 
April 5 opening of the Mexican Central 
Railway from El Paso to the City of Mexico. 

1885 — February, some Americans arrested for 
breaking twigs from the tree of Noche 
Triste (the Sorrowful Night). 

1886 — Completion of Mexican National Railroad to 
Morelia and Patzcuaro. 
December 1, re-election of General Porfirio 
Diaz to the presidency. 



CHRONOLOGY OF MEXICAN HISTORY 319 

1888— April 17, completion of the Mexican Central 
to Guadalajara. 
March 1, completion of the International Rail- 
road, Eagle Pass to Torreon. 
November 1, completion of the Mexican Na- 
tional Railroad, from Laredo to the City of 
Mexico. 
1889— Construction of the Mexican Southern Rail- 
road commenced in September. 
1892— November 11, opening of the Mexican South- 
ern Railroad. 
1893 — Completion of the Interoceanic Railway to 

Vera Cruz. 
1894 — March 1, first party of American tourists vis- 
ited the Ruins of Mitla, under escort of the 
American Tourist Association. 
Completion of the Tehuantepec Railroad. 
1895 — October 12, coronation of the Virgin of Guada- 
lupe. 
1896— September 16, Mexico's Liberty Bell, the bell 
of Hidalgo, placed over the entrance to the 
National Palace. 
November 8, President Diaz opens 2nd Pan- 
American Medical Congress. 
1897— Completion of the Mexico, Cuernavaca & Pa- 
cific Railway to Cuernavaca. 
1901— April 10, dedication of the Chapel on the 
Cerro Campana, where Maximilian was 
executed. 
Excavations at Mitla reveal subterranean 
chambers, cement pavings, stone curbings. 
1903— First solid train of Pullmans from Vera Cruz 

to the City of Mexico. 
1905— Mexican National R. R. made standard gauge 

through to the City of Mexico. 
1906— Mexico adopts gold standard, fixing the value 
of the peso at fifty cents gold. 



320 CHEONOLOGY OF MEXICAN HISTORY 

1908 — Merger of the Mexican National and Mexican 

Central Railways under the name of the 

National Lines of Mexico, the government 

owning controlling interest. 

1910 — November 23, Francisco I. Madero proclaims 

himself provisional president. 
1911 — May 25, Diaz resigns and sails with family 
for Europe May 31. 
October 1, Madero elected president. 
1913 — February 19, Madero arrested by General 
Blanquet and General Victoriano Huerta, 
commander of federal troops, proclaimed 
provisional president. 
February 21, General Carranza starts new 

revolution in Northern States. 
February 22, President Madero and Vice- 
President Suarez assassinated about mid- 
night. 
United States declines to recognize Huerta 

as president. 
November 2, General Huerta notified by Pres- 
ident Wilson that he must ^resign the presi- 
dency of Mexico. 
1914 — ^April 20, President "Wilson appears before 
Congress and asks authority to use army 
and navy of United States in enforcing re- 
spect for United States flag in Mexico. 
April 21, United States sailors and marines 
occupy City of Vera Cruz. Active hostili- 
ties begun. 
April 25, Mediation proposed by Argentina, 
Brazil and Chile, accepted by President 
Wilson and later by Huerta. Armistice 
agreed upon. 



3i<.77-6 



